The earthworm is ideal for studying action potential conduction velocity in a classroom setting, as its simple linear anatomy allows easy axon length measurements and the worm's sparse coding allows single action potentials to be easily identified. The earthworm has two giant fiber systems (lateral and medial) with different conduction velocities that can be easily measured by manipulating electrode placement and the tactile stimulus. Here, we present a portable and robust experimental setup that allows students to perform conduction velocity measurements within a 30-min to 1-h laboratory session. Our improvement over this well-known preparation is the combination of behaviorally relevant tactile stimuli (avoiding electrical stimulation) with the invention of minimal, low-cost, and portable equipment. We tested these experiments during workshops in both a high school and college classroom environment and found positive learning outcomes when we compared pre- and posttests taken by the students. PMID:24585472

We describe a simple, inexpensive, and robust undergraduate lab experiment that demonstrates the emergence of quantized conductance as a macroscopic gold wire is broken and unbroken. The experiment utilizes a mechanically controlled break junction and demonstrates how conductance quantization can be used to understand the importance of quantum mechanics at the nanoscale. Such an experiment can be integrated into the curriculum of a course on nanoscale science or contemporary physics at the junior and senior levels.

A simple laboratoryexperiment, based on the Maillard reaction, served as a project in Introductory Statistics for undergraduates in Food Science and Technology. By using the principles of randomization and replication and reflecting on the sources of variation in the experimental data, students reinforced the statistical concepts and techniques…

Irradiation experimentsconducted on dogs and mice at Argonne National Laboratory, IL between 1952 and 1992 led to creation\\u000a of archives of paraffin-embedded tissues accompanied by extensive datasets with gross pathology and histopathology information.\\u000a Over the past 40 years, these data were investigated computationally, using different statistical approaches. Embedded tissues\\u000a are used to this day as a source of genomic and

The addition of charcoal (or biochar) to soil has significant carbon sequestration and agronomic potential, making it important to determine how this potentially large anthropogenic carbon influx will alter ecosystem functions. We used column experiments to quantify how hydrologic and nutrient-retention characteristics of three soil materials differed with biochar amendment. We compared three homogeneous soil materials (sand, organic-rich topsoil, and clay-rich Hapludert) to provide a basic understanding of biochar-soil-water interactions. On average, biochar amendment decreased saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) by 92% in sand and 67% in organic soil, but increased K by 328% in clay-rich soil. The change in K for sand was not predicted by the accompanying physical changes to the soil mixture; the sand-biochar mixture was less dense and more porous than sand without biochar. We propose two hydrologic pathways that are potential drivers for this behavior: one through the interstitial biochar-sand space and a second through pores within the biochar grains themselves. This second pathway adds to the porosity of the soil mixture; however, it likely does not add to the effective soil K due to its tortuosity and smaller pore size. Therefore, the addition of biochar can increase or decrease soil drainage, and suggests that any potential improvement of water delivery to plants is dependent on soil type, biochar amendment rate, and biochar properties. Changes in dissolved carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes also differed; with biochar increasing the C flux from organic-poor sand, decreasing it from organic-rich soils, and retaining small amounts of soil-derived N. The aromaticity of C lost from sand and clay increased, suggesting lost C was biochar-derived; though the loss accounts for only 0.05% of added biochar-C. Thus, the direction and magnitude of hydraulic, C, and N changes associated with biochar amendments are soil type (composition and particle size) dependent. PMID:25251677

The earthworm is ideal for studying action potential conduction velocity in a classroom setting, as its simple linear anatomy allows easy axon length measurements and the worm's sparse coding allows single action potentials to be easily identified. The earthworm has two giant fiber systems (lateral and medial) with different conduction…

In the course of the energy transition, the number of shallow geothermal systems is constantly growing. These systems allow the exploitation of renewable energy from the subsurface, reduced CO2 emission and additionally, energy storage. An efficient performance of geothermal systems strongly depends upon the availability of exploration data (e.g. thermal conductivity distribution). However, due to high exploration costs, the dimensioning of smaller plants (< 30 kW) is generally based on literature values. While standard in-situ-tests are persistent for larger scale projects, they yield only integral values, e.g. entire length of a borehole heat exchanger. Hence, exploring the distribution of the thermal conductivity as important soil parameter requires the development of new cost-efficient technologies. The general relationship between the electrical (RE) and the thermal resistivity (RT) can be described as log(RE) = CR log(RT) with CRas a multiplier depending on additional soil parameter (e.g. water content, density, porosity, grain size and distribution). Knowing the influencing factor of these additional determining parameters, geoelectrical measurements could provide a cost-efficient exploration strategy of the thermal conductivity for shallow geothermal sites. The aim of this study now is to define the multiplier CRexperimentally to conclude the exact correlation of the thermal and electrical behavior. The set-up consists of an acrylic glass tube with two current electrodes installed at the upper and lower end of the tube. Four electrode chains (each with eight electrodes) measure the potential differences in respect to an induced heat flux initiated by a heat plate. Additional, eight temperature sensors measure the changes of the temperature differences. First, we use this set-up to analyze the influence of soil properties based on differing homogenous sediments with known chemical and petro-physical properties. Further, we analyze the influence of the water content by using differing saturation levels. Based on these values, we will define the multiplier CR and finally determine the exact correlation between the thermal and the electrical resistivity.

Arguments are given in favour of performing non-conservative radionuclide migration experiments in natural and artificial fractures under laboratory conditions. Results are presented from a series of migration experiments performed in a natural fracture in a quarried block of granite with overall dimensions of 81 × 90 × 75 cm. These experiments were conducted in a dedicated experimental facility and were

In 1953, Stanley Miller reported the production of biomolecules from simple gaseous starting materials, using apparatus constructed to simulate the primordial Earth's atmosphere-ocean system. Miller introduced 200 ml of water, 100 mmHg of H2, 200mmHg of CH4, and 200mmHg of NH3 into the apparatus, then subjected this mixture, under reflux, to an electric discharge for a week, while the water was simultaneously heated. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide the reader with a general experimental protocol that can be used to conduct a Miller-Urey type spark discharge experiment, using a simplified 3 L reaction flask. Since the experiment involves exposing inflammable gases to a high voltage discharge, it is worth highlighting important steps that reduce the risk of explosion. The general procedures described in this work can be extrapolated to design and conduct a wide variety of electric discharge experiments simulating primitive planetary environments.

Detailed is a method in which short pieces of teflon tubing may be used for collection tubes for collecting preparative fractions from gas chromatographs. Material preparation, laboratory procedures, and results of this method are discussed. (CW)

In conjunction with the Dalmarnock Fire Tests a series of laboratory tests have been conducted at the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering at the University of Edinburgh (UoE) in support of the large scale tests. These ...

Arguments are given in favor of performing non-conservative radionuclide migration experiments in natural and artificial fractures under laboratory conditions. Results are presented from a series of migration experiments performed in a natural fracture in a quarried block of granite with overall dimensions of 81×90×75 cm. These experiments were conducted in a dedicated experimental facility and were designed to complement field

We describe ethical and procedural aspects of setting up and con- ducting phishing experiments, drawing on experience gained from being involved in the design and execution of a sequence of phishing experi- ments (second author), and from being involved in the review of such experiments at the Institutional Review Board (IRB) level (first author). We describe the roles of consent,

Many advances in understanding space plasma phenomena have been linked to insight derived from theoretical modeling and\\/or laboratoryexperiments. Advances for which laboratoryexperiments played an important role are reviewed here. How the interpretation of the space plasma data was influenced by one or more laboratoryexperiments is described. The space physics motivation of laboratory investigations and the scaling of

Many advances in understanding space plasma phenomena have been linked to insight derived from theoretical modeling and\\/or laboratoryexperiments. This tutorial talk will review advances for which laboratoryexperiments played an important role and will describe how the interpretation of the space plasma data was influenced by one or more laboratoryexperiments. The space-motivation of laboratory investigations and the scaling

Electrical conductivity structures of the Earth’s mantle estimated from the magnetotelluric and geomagnetic deep sounding\\u000a methods generally show increase of conductivity from 10?4–10?2 to 100 S\\/m with increasing depth to the top of the lower mantle. Although conductivity does not vary significantly in the lower\\u000a mantle, the possible existence of a highly conductive layer has been proposed at the base of

Particle transport in unsaturated fractured chalk under arid conditions Abstract A series of field fractures in vadose chalk. Experiments of intermittent flow events along fracture surfaces were carried out

A new physical chemistry laboratoryexperience has been designed for upper-level undergraduate chemistry majors. Students customize the first 10 weeks of their laboratoryexperience by choosing their own set of experiments (from a manual of choices) and setting their own laboratory schedule. There are several topics presented in the accompanying…

Two laboratoryexperiments are described that have been built at Los Alamos (LANL) to gain access to a wide range of fundamental plasma physics issues germane to astro, space, and fusion plasmas. The overarching theme is magnetized plasma dynamics which includes significant currents, MHD forces and instabilities, magnetic field creation and annihilation, sheared flows and shocks. The Relaxation Scaling Experiment (RSX) creates current sheets and flux ropes that exhibit fully 3D dynamics, and can kink, bounce, merge and reconnect, shred, and reform in complicated ways. Recent movies from a large data set describe the 3D magnetic structure of a driven and dissipative single flux rope that spontaneously self-saturates a kink instability. Examples of a coherent shear flow dynamo driven by colliding flux ropes will also be shown. The Magnetized Shock Experiment (MSX) uses Field reversed configuration (FRC) experimental hardware that forms and ejects FRCs at 150km/sec. This is sufficient to drive a collision less magnetized shock when stagnated into a mirror stopping field region with Alfven Mach number MA=3 so that super critical shocks can be studied. We are building a plasmoid accelerator to drive Mach numbers MA >> 3 to access solar wind and more exotic astrophysical regimes. Unique features of this experiment include access to parallel, oblique and perpendicular shocks, shock region much larger than ion gyro radii and ion inertial length, room for turbulence, and large magnetic and fluid Reynolds numbers.

Quantitative interpretation of MT anomalies in volcanic regions requires laboratory measurements of electrical conductivities of natural magma compositions. The electrical conductivities of three lava compositions from Mount Vesuvius (Italy) have been measured using an impedance spectrometer. Experiments were conducted on both glasses and melts between 400 and 1300°C, at both ambient pressure in air and high pressures (up to 400

Two laboratoryexperiments are described that have been built at Los Alamos (LANL) to gain access to a wide range of fundamental plasma physics issues germane to astro, space, and fusion plasmas. The over arching theme is magnetized plasma dynamics which includes significant currents, MHD forces and instabilities, magnetic field creation and annihilation, sheared flows and shocks. The Relaxation Scaling Experiment (RSX) creates current sheets and flux ropes that exhibit fully 3D dynamics, and can kink, bounce, merge and reconnect, shred, and reform in complicated ways. Recent movies from a large data set describe the 3D magnetic structure of a driven and dissipative single flux rope that spontaneously self saturates a kink instability. Examples of a coherent shear flow dynamo driven by colliding flux ropes will also be shown.The Magnetized Shock Experiment (MSX) uses Field reversed configuration (FRC) experimental hardware that forms and ejects FRCs at 150km/sec. This is sufficient to drive a collision less magnetized shock when stagnated into a mirror stopping field region with Alfven Mach number MA=3 so that super critical shocks can be studied. We are building a plasmoid accelerator to drive Mach numbers MA >> 3 to access solar wind and more exotic astrophysical regimes. Unique features of this experiment include access to parallel, oblique and perpendicular shocks, shock region much larger than ion gyro radii and ion inertial length, room for turbulence, and large magnetic and fluid Reynolds numbers.*DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under LANS contract DE-AC52-06NA25396, NASA Geospace NNHIOA044I, Basic, Center for Magnetic Self Organization

The compilation of data on conducting the SAMEX-76 experiment is reported. This report includes many tables and graphs of the aircraft's flights and its measurements. Also given is the operation time of this equipment and the many observations that have been made by the Scientific Research Ship Akademik Korolev.

The practical experiences, or the professional laboratory program in teacher education, is the subject of this publication. Its intent is to serve colleges, universities, and schools as a guide in their development of a full range of laboratoryexperiences in an effort to assure more competent and committed teachers to improve the education of…

The primary goal of the project is to develop a fault analysis experiment which allows students to examine the effect of fault conditions on a power system in a realistic manner. This experiment is the first in a series of experiments to be implemented in Drexel University's Interconnected Power Systems Laboratory (IPSL). The IPSL provides a real-life power system network

Presents a range of experiments in heat conduction suitable for upper-level undergraduate laboratories that make use of heat sensitive liquid crystal film to measure temperature contours. Includes experiments mathematically described by Laplace's equation, experiments theoretically described by Poisson's equation, and experiments that involve…

Important trends in laboratory, numerical, and space experiments are outlined. Particular attention is given to the experiments of Baum and Bratenahl (1980) on current sheets and reconnection. Experimental studies dealing with critical ionization velocity and electric double layers are described. Attention is also given to experiments on electron beams in the earth's magnetosphere and plasma injection to the magnetosphere.

The spectacular lightning strokes observed during eruptions testify to the enormous potentials that can be generated within plumes. Related to the charging of individual ash particles, large electric fields and volcanic lightning have been observed at Eyjafjallajokull, Redoubt, and Chaiten, among other volcanoes. A number of mechanisms have been proposed for plume electrification, including triboelectric charging, charging from the brittle failure of rock, and charging due to phase change as material is carried aloft. While the overall electrification of the plume likely results from a combination of these processes, in the following work we focus on triboelectric charging—how a plume charges as particles collide with each other. To explore the role of triboelectric effects in plume charging we have conducted a number of small scale laboratoryexperiments similar to those designed by Forward et al (2009). Succinctly, the experiments consist of fluidizing an ash bed with nitrogen and monitoring the resulting currents induced by the moving particles. It is important to note that the reaction chamber only allows particle-particle interactions. The entire experimental setup is enclosed in a vacuum chamber, allowing us to carefully control the environment during experiments. Runs were carried out for different ash compositions, and driving pressures. We particularly focused on natural grain size distributions of ash and on quantifying not only the net charge but also the charging rate. Furthermore, we report on our progress to incorporate the collected data, namely charging rates, into a large eularian-eularian-lagrangian multiphase eruption dynamic model. Finally, to validate these results, we present our plans to deploy a large wireless sensor network of electrometers and magnetometers around active volcanoes to directly map the overhead E- and M-fields as an eruption occurs.

The major challenge in laboratory teaching is the application of abstract concepts in simple and direct practical lessons. However, students rarely have the opportunity to participate in a laboratory that combines practical learning with a realistic research experience. In the Bioengineering Department, we started an experiential laboratory physiology to teach graduated students some aspects of sensorial physiology and exposes them to laboratory skills in instrumentation and physiological measurements. Students were able to analyze and quantify the effects of activation of mechanoreceptors in multifiber afferent discharges using equipment that was not overly sophisticated. In consequence, this practical laboratory helps students to make connections with physiological concepts acquired in theoretical classes and to introduce them to electrophysiological research.

The problem of saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers is dealt with by the proper setup of a sand-box device to develop laboratoryexperiments in a controlled environment. Saline intrusion is a problem of fundamental importance and affects the quality of both surface water and groundwater in coastal areas. In both cases the phenomenon may be linked to anthropogenic (construction of reservoirs, withdrawals, etc.) and/or natural (sea-level excursions, variability of river flows, etc.) changes. In recent years, the escalation of this problem has led to the development of specific projects and studies to identify possible countermeasures, typically consisting of underground barriers. Physical models are fundamental to study the saltwater intrusion problem, since they provide benchmarks for numerical model calibrations and for the evaluation of the effectiveness of solutions to contain the salt wedge. In order to study and describe the evolution of the salt wedge, the effectiveness of underground barriers, and the distance from the coast of a withdrawal that guarantees a continuous supply of fresh water, a physical model has been realized at the University of Padova to represent the terminal part of a coastal aquifer. It consists of a laboratory flume 500 cm long, 30 cm wide and 60 cm high, filled for an height of 45 cm with glass beads with a d50 of 0.6 mm and a uniformity coefficient d60/d10~= 1.5. The material is homogeneous and characterized by a porosity of about 0.37 and by an hydraulic conductivity of about 1.8×10-3 m/s. Upstream from the sand-box, a tank, continuously supplied by a pump, provides fresh water to recharge the aquifer, while the downstream tank, filled with salt water, simulates the sea. The volume of the downstream tank (~= 2 m3) is about five times the upstream one, so that density variations due to the incoming fresh water flow are negligible. The water level in the two tanks is continuously monitored by means of two level probes and is controlled by a couple of spillways placed in both the upstream and downstream tanks, ensuring a constant gradient during the tests. The flow rate spilled from the downstream tank is continuously measured so that it is possible to control the fulfillment of the stationary condition in the system. While we use food dye to mark saltwater to give an easy visual evidence of the salt wedge, the spatio-temporal evolution of the concentration is monitored during the experiment by using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). An electrode system specifically realized to be effective in the flume is used during the experiments to achieve electrical resistance measurements, later converted in concentrations through the calibration of a petrophysical law. The presentation describes the laboratory setup and the data achieved from the developed experiments compared with numerical simulations obtained by the SUTRA software.

A laboratoryexperiment consisting of the preparation of sparklers has been developed as part of a project which organizes the general chemistry sequence according to subjects with which students are familiar. This laboratory makes use of oxidation/reduction chemistry to produce a product familiar to students. The result is a mixture rather than a compound, but the composition must be carefully measured to produce a sparkler that will stay lit and produce sparks. The dramatic reaction may be the most impressive and memorable experience that students encounter in the laboratory. Sparklers are formulated from iron, magnesium, and aluminum powders, plus potassium chlorate and barium nitrate held on thick iron wire by a starch paste. At elevated temperatures metal nitrates and chlorates decompose to produces gases, providing the necessary force to eject bits of powdered, burning metal into the air.

of Political Science and Communication Stanford University Conference on Experimentation in Political Science on the areas of political behavior, public opinion and mass communication, but there were also experimentalLaboratoryExperiments in Political Science Shanto Iyengar (siyengar@stanford.edu) Departments

Examines computer based simulations of practical laboratoryexperiments in engineering. Discusses the aims and achievements of lab work (cognitive, process, psychomotor, and affective); types of simulations (model building and behavioral); and the strengths and weaknesses of simulations. Describes the development of a centrifugal pump simulation,…

The primary goal of the project is to develop a fault analysis experiment which allows students to examine the effect of fault conditions on a power system in a realistic manner. This experiment is the first in a series of experiments to be implemented in Drexel University`s Interconnected Power Systems Laboratory (IPSL). The IPSL provides a real-life power system network and a computer interface to the system in order to provide control and data capturing. The computer interface utilizes client/server and industry standard networking technology to help students visualize power system phenomena as seen by the system operator via an Energy Management System (EMS).

A progress photograph of sample experiments being conducted in the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory with lunar material brought back to Earth by the crew of the Apollo 11 mission. Aseptic cultures of liverwort (marchantia polymorpha) - a species of plant commonly found growing on rocks or in wooded areas - are shown in two rows of sample containers. Seven weeks or some 50 days prior to this photograph 0.22 grams of finely ground lunar material was added to each of the upper samples of cultures. The lower cultures were untreated, and a noted difference can be seen in the upper row and the lower one, both in color and size of the culture.

Original photo and caption dated June 22, 1988: 'A dwarf wheat variety known as Yecoro Rojo flourishes in KSC's Biomass Production Chamber. Researchers are gathering information on the crop's ability to produce food, water and oxygen, and then remove carbon dioxide. The confined quarters associated with space travel require researchers to focus on smaller plants that yield proportionately large amounts of biomass. This wheat crop takes about 85 days to grow before harvest.' Plant experiments such as this are the type of life sciences research that will be conducted at the Space Experiment Research Procession Laboratory (SERPL). The SERPL is a planned 100,000-square-foot laboratory that will provide expanded and upgraded facilities for hosting International Space Station experiment processing. In addition, it will provide better support for other biological and life sciences payload processing at KSC. It will serve as a magnet facility for a planned 400-acre Space Station Commerce Park.

A new procedure involving digital image processing and image analysis for determination of the number of individuals and size distribution of a collembolan population is presented. It is applicable to experimentsconducted with a single species either on plaster or in soil. Collembolans are transferred to an even, black surface and immobilised by anaesthetisation with carbon dioxide. By scanning the

Since research indicates teachers generally lack confidence in their ability to conduct lessons in the outdoors and feel inadequate regarding knowledge of the natural world, this guide has been developed to build teacher confidence in utilizing the outdoors. Designed to be used in conjunction with a practicum workshop, this guide presents…

Laboratoryexperiment was carried out in a wave tank to research the interaction between surface wave and pre-existing turbulence. The homogenous and uniform turbulence was produced by grid stirring and the mechanical wave was generated by wave maker. ADV was used to measure water velocity with sampling frequency of 128Hz. Three kinds of experiments were carried out: only mechanical wave with period of 1.0s, only homogenous and uniform turbulence, and homogenous and uniform turbulence superimposed by mechanical wave with period of 1.0s. Results show that surface wave can indeed modulate pre-existing turbulence and the modulation generally occurs in wave trough.

Duck, N.C.—Something out of the ordinary has been happening near this quiet, resort town on the Outer Banks. More than 100 coastal scientists, students, and technicians have descended on the Army Corps of Engineer's Waterways Experiment Station primarily to study movement of sediment in the surf zone. In fact, a large percentage of the U.S. near-shore research community has flooded the Duck area to execute the largest coastal experiment ever undertaken. The researchers have brought with them more than 80 computers and an array of exotic gadgets to carry out “DUCK94,” an unprecedented project that has been three years in the making.

Payload specialists Patrick Baudry participates in an experiment involving equilibrium and vertigo. He is anchored to the orbiter floor by foot restraints and is wearing a device over his eyes to measure angular head movement and up and down eye movement.

The existence of MeV-GeV dark matter (DM) is theoretically well motivated but remarkably unexplored. The Beam Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Laboratory aims to investigate this mass range. Dark matter particles will be detected trough scattering on a segmented, plastic scintillator detector placed downstream of the beam-dump at one of the high intensity JLab experimental Halls. The experiment will collect up to 1022 electrons-on-target (EOT) in a one-year period. For these conditions, BDX is sensitive to the DM-nucleon elastic scattering at the level of a thousand counts per year, and is only limited by cosmogenic backgrounds. The experiment is also sensitive to DM-electron elastic and inelastic scattering, at the level of 10 counts/year. The foreseen signal for these channels is an high-energy (> 100 MeV) electromagnetic shower, with almost no background. The experiment, has been presented in form of a Letter of Intent to the laboratory, receiving positive feedback, and is currently being designed.

To make laboratoryexperiments an efficient tool for the studying the dynamical astrophysical phenomena, it is desirable to perform them in such a way as to satisfy the scaling invariance with respect to the astrophysical system under study. Several examples are presented of such scalings in the area of magnetohydrodynamic phenomena, where a number of scaled experiments have been performed. A difficult issue of the effect of fine-scale dissipative structures on the global scale dissipation-free flow is discussed. The second part of the paper is concerned with much less developed area of the scalings relevant to the interaction of an ultra-intense laser pulse with a pre-formed plasma. The use of the symmetry arguments in such experiments is also considered.

To make a laboratoryexperiment an efficient tool for the studying the dynamical astrophysical phenomena, it is desirable to perform them in such a way as to observe the scaling invariance with respect to the astrophysical system under study. Several examples are presented of such scalings in the area of magnetohydrodynamic phenomena, where a number of scaled experiments have been performed. A difficult issue of the effect of fine-scale dissipative structures on the global scale dissipation-free flow is discussed. The second part of the paper is concerned with much less developed area of the scalings relevant to the interaction of an ultra-intense laser pulse with a pre-formed plasma. The use of the symmetry arguments in such experiments is also considered.

Modern society's reliance on space-based platforms for a variety of economic and geopolitical purposes makes understanding the physics of the magnetosphere and "space weather'' one of the most important applications of plasma science. During the past decade, results from the CTX and LDX laboratory magnetospheres and from the RT-1 device at University of Tokyo, we have developed techniques to explore space physics using controlled experiments in laboratory magnetospheres. This presentation briefly reviews observations from the laboratory magnetospheres at Columbia University and MIT, including adiabatic drift-resonant transport, low-frequency MHD turbulence, and the formation of high-beta plasmas with profiles similar to Earth's inner magnetosphere. First principle validation of ``whole plasma'' space weather models have been completed in relevant magnetic geometry, including the spectrum and dynamics of turbulence successfully modeled with nonlinear bounce-averaged gyrokinetic simulations. Plans to explore Alfvénic dynamics and whistler wave trapping are discussed through the achievement of higher-density plasmas using radio-frequency heating. Photographs of the laboratory magnetospheres located at MIT (top) and Columbia University (bottom).

A laboratoryexperiment of monochromatic waves propagating through three different ice covers was conducted in December 2013 at the Hamburg Ship Model Basin. This talk presents the preliminary results. The three types of ice covers are: grease ice, pancake ice, and fragmented floes. These types of ice covers are commonly found in the marginal ice zone. The first two are present during ice formation from open water in a wave field. They are found near the ice edge or in leads and polynyas. The third one is formed as a continuous ice sheet or large ice floes fracture due to wave, wind stress, or dynamic motion of the ice cover as a whole. The change of wave speed, wavelength, and wave amplitude are determined. These results are compared to previous laboratory and field studies. The possibility of extending the laboratory results to field scale is discussed.

Designing and Conducting Phishing Experiments Peter Finn Markus Jakobsson Dept. of Psychology and procedural aspects of setting up and con- ducting phishing experiments, drawing on experience gained from being involved in the design and execution of a sequence of phishing experi- ments (second author

Original photo and caption dated October 8, 1991: 'Plant researchers Lisa Ruffe and Neil Yorio prepare to harvest a crop of Waldann's Green Lettuce from KSC's Biomass Production Chamber (BPC). KSC researchers have grown several different crops in the BPC to determine which plants will better produce food, water and oxygen on long-duration space missions.' Their work is an example of the type of life sciences research that will be conducted at the Space Experiment Research Procession Laboratory (SERPL). The SERPL is a planned 100,000-square-foot laboratory that will provide expanded and upgraded facilities for hosting International Space Station experiment processing. In addition, it will provide better support for other biological and life sciences payload processing at KSC. It will serve as a magnet facility for a planned 400-acre Space Station Commerce Park.

Original photo and caption dated October 8, 1991: 'Plant researchers Neil Yorio and Lisa Ruffe prepare to harvest a crop of Waldann's Green Lettuce from KSC's Biomass Production Chamber (BPC). KSC researchers have grown several different crops in the BPC to determine which plants will better produce food, water and oxygen on long-duration space missions.' Their work is an example of the type of life sciences research that will be conducted at the Space Experiment Research Procession Laboratory (SERPL). The SERPL is a planned 100,000-square-foot laboratory that will provide expanded and upgraded facilities for hosting International Space Station experiment processing. In addition, it will provide better support for other biological and life sciences payload processing at KSC. It will serve as a magnet facility for a planned 400-acre Space Station Commerce Park.

Laboratory-Measured and Property-Transfer Modeled Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Snake River Conductivity of Snake River Plain Aquifer Sediments at the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho By Kim S. Perkins saturated hydraulic conductivity of Snake River Plain aquifer sediments at the Idaho National Laboratory

Dicusses the effects of using laboratory assistants for disabled students' learning in the chemistry laboratory. Presents two case studies and general strategies for approaching laboratoryexperiences for disabled students. (KHR)

A laboratoryexperiment was designed to increase the understanding of the geoelectric effects of microbial " degradation of hydrocarbons. Eight large columns were were paired to provide a replicate of each of four experiments. These large-volume columns contained "sterilized" soi...

Laboratoryexperiments of a 7.2-m-diameter conical island were conducted to study three-dimensional tsunami runup. The 62.5-cm tall island had 1 on 4 side slopes and was positioned in the center of a 30-m-wide by 25-m-long flat-bottom basin. Solitary waves with height-to-depth ratios ranging from 0.05 to 0.20 and “source” lengths ranging from 0.30 to 7.14 island diameters were tested in

The hypothesis of rip current generation from purely hydrodynamic processes is here investigated through laboratoryexperiments. The experiments have been performed at the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin (CCOB) with a segmented wavemaker consisting of 64 waveboards. The basin measures 25m in the cross-shore and 32m in the alongshore direction and the water depth at the wavemaker is 1m. A concrete plane sloping (1:5) beach has been built in the opposite side of the wave machine, its toe is 15m from the waveboards. Reflective lateral walls covered the full length of the basin. The set of instruments consists of 33 wave gauges deployed along two longshore and two cross-shore transects, 7 acoustic Doppler velocimeters and 15 run-up wires. Furthermore a set of two cameras has been synchronized with the data acquisition system. Two types of experiments have been performed to specifically study the generation of rip currents under wave group forcing. First, similarly to the experiments of Fowler and Dalrymple (Proc. 22nd Int. Conf. Coast. Eng.,1990), two intersecting wave trains with opposite directions have been imposed. They give rise to the formation of a non-migrating rip current system with a wavelength that depends on wave frequency and direction. Second, single wave trains with alongshore periodic amplitude attenuation have been imposed. Although the attenuation has been set such that the incident wave field has the same envelope as in the first type of experiments, the rip current system differs due to diffraction and interference processes. The results for different wave conditions (maximum incident wave height from 0.2m to 0.4m, wave period from 1.4s to 2s) will be presented and the intensity of the rip currents will be compared to the alongshore variation in wave set-up. This research is part of the ANIMO project funded by the Spanish Government under contract BIA2012-36822.

This study was conducted to ascertain the impacts of bed leveling, following ship channel dredging operations, and to also investigate the hydrodynamic flow field around box bed levelers. Laboratoryexperiments were conducted with bed levelers...

Mesoscale eddies in the ocean have frequently been observed to collide with islands or seamounts, often resulting in major modifications of their structure. These collisions could have a major impact on the re-distribution of water properties and mixing rates. We investigated the interaction between a self-propagating barotropic cyclonic eddy with two right vertical cylinders and determined the conditions for an eddy to bifurcate into two or more eddies. We performed a series of idealized laboratoryexperiments, carried out in a glass tank mounted concentrically on a 1 m diameter rotating turntable. The velocity and vorticity of the flow field were obtained using particle tracking velocimetry. As in a previous study, after a self-propagating cyclonic eddy came in contact with the obstacle, fluid peeled off the outer edge of the vortex and a so-called ''streamer'' went around the cylinder in a counterclockwise direction. Under the right conditions, this fluid formed a new cyclonic vortex in the wake of the cylinder, causing bifurcation of the original vortex into two eddies. In some cases, two ''streamers'' formed and went around the two obstacles, each forming a new cyclonic vortex. Hence, multiple eddies were generated by the interaction of a single cyclonic eddy with two right vertical cylinders. During the experiments three parameters were varied: G, the obstacle separation, d, the diameter of the incident vortex and Y, the distance of the center of the vortex from an axis passing through the center of the gap between the obstacles. The exact number of eddies generated by the interaction depends on the ratio G/d and on the geometry of the encounter, which is given by the ratio Y/g, where g=G/2. Furthermore, in some experiments we observed the formation of an eddy of opposite sign (anticyclonic) at the downstream side of the gap between the two obstacles. This is in agreement with recent observations of North Brazil Current Rings, suggesting that these very idealized laboratoryexperiments may bring some insights to the fate of mesoscale eddies in the ocean. Supported by NSF grant OCE-0081756.

An experimental apparatus was designed and built to allow students to carry out heat conductionexperiments in hollow cylinders made of different materials, as well as to determine the thermal conductivity of these materials. The evolution of the temperature difference between the inner and outer walls of the cylinder as a function of time is…

Original photo and caption dated August 14, 1995: 'KSC plant physiologist Dr. Gary Stutte (right) and Cheryl Mackowiak harvest potatoes grown in the Biomass Production Chamber of the Controlled Enviornment Life Support System (CELSS in Hangar L at Cape Canaveral Air Station. During a 418-day 'human rated' experiment, potato crops grown in the chamber provided the equivalent of a continuous supply of the oxygen for one astronaut, along with 55 percent of that long-duration space flight crew member's caloric food requirements and enough purified water for four astronauts while absorbing their expelled carbon dioxide. The experiment provided data that will help demonstarte the feasibility of the CELSS operating as a bioregenerative life support system for lunar and deep-space missions that can operate independently without the need to carry consumables such as air, water and food, while not requiring the expendable air and water system filters necessary on today's human-piloted spacecraft.' Their work is an example of the type of life sciences research that will be conducted at the Space Experiment Research Procession Laboratory (SERPL). The SERPL is a planned 100,000-square-foot laboratory that will provide expanded and upgraded facilities for hosting International Space Station experiment processing. In addition, it will provide better support for other biological and life sciences payload processing at KSC. It will serve as a magnet facility for a planned 400-acre Space Station Commerce Park.

Original photo and caption dated August 14, 1995: 'KSC plant physiologist Dr. Gary Stutte harvests a potato grown in the Biomass Production Chamber of the Controlled environment Life Support system (CELSS) in Hangar L at Cape Canaveral Air Station. During a 418-day 'human rated' experiment, potato crops grown in the chamber provided the equivalent of a continuous supply of the oxygen for one astronaut, along with 55 percent of that long-duration space flight crew member's caloric food requirements and enough purified water for four astronauts while absorbing their expelled carbon dioxide. The experiment provided data that will help demonstarte the feasibility of the CELSS operating as a bioregenerative life support system for lunar and deep-space missions that can operate independently without the need to carry consumables such as air, water and food, while not requiring the expendable air and water system filters necessary on today's human-piloted spacecraft.' His work is an example of the type of life sciences research that will be conducted at the Space Experiment Research Procession Laboratory (SERPL). The SERPL is a planned 100,000-square-foot laboratory that will provide expanded and upgraded facilities for hosting International Space Station experiment processing. In addition, it will provide better support for other biological and life sciences payload processing at KSC. It will serve as a magnet facility for a planned 400-acre Space Station Commerce Park.

Experiments involving radial foils on a 1 MA, 100 ns current driver can be used to study the ablation of thin foils and liners, produce extreme conditions relevant to laboratory astrophysics, and aid in computational code validation. This research focuses on the initial ablation phase of a 20 ?m Al foil (8111 alloy), in a radial configuration, driven by Cornell University's COBRA pulsed power generator. In these experiments ablated surface plasma (ASP) on the top side of the foil and a strongly collimated axial plasma jet are observed developing midway through the current rise. With experimental and computational results this work gives a detailed description of the role of the ASP in the formation of the plasma jet with and without an applied axial magnetic field. This ?1 T field is applied by a Helmholtz-coil pair driven by a slow, 150 ?s current pulse and penetrates the load hardware before arrival of the COBRA pulse. Several effects of the applied magnetic field are observed: (1) without the field extreme-ultraviolet emission from the ASP shows considerable azimuthal asymmetry while with the field the ASP develops azimuthal motion that reduces this asymmetry, (2) this azimuthal motion slows the development of the jet when the field is applied, and (3) with the magnetic field the jet becomes less collimated and has a density minimum (hollowing) on the axis. PERSEUS, an XMHD code, has qualitatively and quantitatively reproduced all these experimental observations. The differences between this XMHD and an MHD code without a Hall current and inertial effects are discussed. In addition the PERSEUS results describe effects we were not able to resolve experimentally and suggest a line of future experiments with better diagnostics. PMID:25679726

In this study, the teaching experiment methodology is used to observe firsthand a gifted student's mathematical learning and reasoning. A series of teaching experiments was conducted with 1 gifted and 1 average 7th-grade student to investigate how the gifted student's mathematical concepts and operation constructions differed from those of the…

Success of acid fracturing treatment depends greatly on the created conductivity under closure stress. In order to have sufficient conductivity, the fracture face must be non-uniformly etched while the fracture strength maintained to withstand...

A new design for experiments in the general chemistry laboratory incorporates a "do-it-yourself" component for students. In this design, students perform proven experiments to gain experience with techniques for about two-thirds of a laboratory session and then spend the last part in the do-it-yourself component, applying the techniques to an…

The ability to safely control highly dynamic systems is of prime importance to designers. Whether the system is an aircraft, spacecraft, or propulsion system, control system designers must turn to test laboratories not only to verify and validate the control systems, but also to actually use the laboratory as a design and development tool. The use of the laboratory early

In this paper, we revisit acoustic emission (AE) data from an in situ rock fracture experimentconducted at the Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in Manitoba, Canada. The Mine-By experiment, a large-scale excavation response test, was undertaken at a depth of 420 m and involved the mechanical excavation of a cylindrical tunnel. During the experiment a small array of 16 Panametrics V103 AE sensors enclosed a 0.7 m × 0.7 m × 1.1 m rectangular prism of Lac du Bonnet granite located in the tunnel wall. The V103 sensors were later calibrated in the laboratory, and a source parameter analysis was undertaken using a spectral fitting method. Corner frequency and moment magnitude were found to be inside the ranges 250 kHz

Globally detected glacial earthquakes are produced during cubic-kilometer scale calving events. The mechanism producing these earthquakes and the dependence of the seismic moment on iceberg size and glacial calving front geometry are not well established. We use a laboratory-scale model of the post-fracture calving process to measure aspects of the calving process not observable in nature. In our experiments, buoyant plastic blocks rest against against a force plate (glacial terminus) which measures both the total force and the torque exerted during the calving process. The blocks are gravitationally unstable, so that they will spontaneously capsize and rotate away from the terminus. We find that hydrodynamics are crucial when considering the coupling between the calving process and the solid earth. There is both a pushing contact force and a simultaneous pulling hydrodynamic force created by a reduced pressure along the terminus face. This suggests that a single couple force mechanism is a more appropriate mode for glacial earthquakes than the commonly used centroid single force model.

Several chemical concepts to the extraction of a water pollutant OPC (octylphenoxyacetic acid) is presented. As an introduction to the laboratoryexperiment, a discussion on endocrine disrupters is conducted to familiarize the student with the background of the experiment and to explain the need for the extraction and quantitation of the OPC which…

Successfully recruiting students from underrepresented groups to pursue biomedical science research careers continues to be a challenge. Early exposure to scientific research is often cited as a powerful means to attract research scholars with the research mentor being critical in facilitating the development of an individual's science identity and career; however, most mentors in the biological sciences have had little formal training in working with research mentees. To better understand mentors' experiences working with undergraduates in the laboratory, we conducted semistructured interviews with 15 research mentors at a public university in the Midwest. The interviewed mentors were part of a program designed to increase the number of American Indians pursuing biomedical/biobehavioral research careers and represented a broad array of perspectives, including equal representation of male and female mentors, mentors from underrepresented groups, mentors at different levels of their careers, and mentors from undergraduate and professional school departments. The mentors identified benefits and challenges in being an effective mentor. We also explored what the term underrepresented means to the mentors and discovered that most of the mentors had an incomplete understanding about how differences in culture could contribute to underrepresented students' experience in the laboratory. Our interviews identify issues relevant to designing programs and courses focused on undergraduate student research. PMID:24006389

Successfully recruiting students from underrepresented groups to pursue biomedical science research careers continues to be a challenge. Early exposure to scientific research is often cited as a powerful means to attract research scholars with the research mentor being critical in facilitating the development of an individual's science identity and career; however, most mentors in the biological sciences have had little formal training in working with research mentees. To better understand mentors’ experiences working with undergraduates in the laboratory, we conducted semistructured interviews with 15 research mentors at a public university in the Midwest. The interviewed mentors were part of a program designed to increase the number of American Indians pursuing biomedical/biobehavioral research careers and represented a broad array of perspectives, including equal representation of male and female mentors, mentors from underrepresented groups, mentors at different levels of their careers, and mentors from undergraduate and professional school departments. The mentors identified benefits and challenges in being an effective mentor. We also explored what the term underrepresented means to the mentors and discovered that most of the mentors had an incomplete understanding about how differences in culture could contribute to underrepresented students’ experience in the laboratory. Our interviews identify issues relevant to designing programs and courses focused on undergraduate student research. PMID:24006389

Describes how to construct an electronic device to be used in conductivityexperiments using a 35 millimeter film canister, nine volt battery replacement snaps, a 200-300 ohm resistor, and a light-emitting diode. Provides a diagram and photographs of the device. (TW)

We describe a sequence of five experiments on network security that cast students successively in the roles of computer user, programmer, and system administrator. Unlike experiments described in several previous papers, these experiments avoid placing students in the role of attacker. Each experiment starts with an in-class demonstration of an…

Orbital mechanics as a discipline is principally concerned with solving the set of equations for analyzing the motion of a satellite under various conditions. This activity on the surface may not seem crucial to conductingexperiments in space, but it provides insights into the way in which forces may influence these experiments. More directly, for experiments concerned with external targets, it provides predictions of the satellites's position and velcoity verus time, enabling extensive preflight planning and resulting in optimum use of on-orbit time.

A laboratory facility for the study of control laws for large flexible spacecraft is described. The facility fulfills the requirements of the Spacecraft Control LaboratoryExperiment (SCOLE) design challenge for laboratoryexperiments, which will allow slew maneuvers and pointing operations. The structural apparatus is described in detail sufficient for modelling purposes. The sensor and actuator types and characteristics are described so that identification and control algorithms may be designed. The control implementation computer and real-time subroutines are also described.

To gain a better understanding of how gravity-driven phenomena affect the solidification and crystal growth of metallic materials, directional solidification experiments have been performed on an Al-Al 3Ni eutectic alloy and an Al-Bi monotectic alloy on board the unmanned Chinese Shenzhou III spacecraft during its flight. For sake of comparison, identical experiments were also performed in the laboratory on earth. The results of investigations applying metallographic, SEM, EPMA and image analysis techniques are reported. Some interesting differences between the samples solidified in space and their counterparts solidified on the ground are described.

Enzyme kinetics experiments are popular in the undergraduate laboratory. These experiments have pedagogic value because they reinforce the concepts of Michaelis-Menten kinetics covered in the lecture portion of the course and give students the experience of calculating kinetic constants from data they themselves have generated. In this experiment, we investigate the kinetics of the thiol protease papain. The source of

In order to evaluate the influence of substrate composition on stormwater treatment and hydraulic effectiveness, mesocosm-scale (180 L, 0.17 m(2)) laboratory rain gardens were established. Saturated (constant head) hydraulic conductivity was determined before and after contaminant (Cu, Zn, Pb and nutrients) removal experiments on three rain garden systems with various proportions of organic topsoil. The system with only topsoil had the lowest saturated hydraulic conductivity (160-164 mm/h) and poorest metal removal efficiency (Cu ? 69.0% and Zn ? 71.4%). Systems with sand and a sand-topsoil mix demonstrated good metal removal (Cu up to 83.3%, Zn up to 94.5%, Pb up to 97.3%) with adequate hydraulic conductivity (sand: 800-805 mm/h, sand-topsoil: 290-302 mm/h). Total metal amounts in the effluent were <50% of influent amounts for all experiments, with the exception of Cu removal in the topsoil-only system, which was negligible due to high dissolved fraction. Metal removal was greater when effluent pH was elevated (up to 7.38) provided by the calcareous sand in two of the systems, whereas the topsoil-only system lacked an alkaline source. Organic topsoil, a typical component in rain garden systems, influenced pH, resulting in poorer treatment due to higher dissolved metal fractions. PMID:22643410

Introduces an experiment involving the observation of Brownian motion for college students. Describes the apparatus, experimental procedures, data analysis and results, and error analysis. Lists experimental techniques used in the experiment. Provides a circuit diagram, typical data, and graphs. (YP)

Laboratoryexperiments were conducted to investigate the dynamics of Vulcanian eruptions. A reservoir containing a mixture of water and methanol plus solid particles was pressurized and suddenly released via a rapid-release valve into a 2 ft by 2 ft by 4 ft plexiglass tank containing fresh water. Water and methanol created a light interstitial fluid to simulate buoyant volcanic gases in erupted mixtures. The duration of the subsequent experiments was not pre-determined, but instead was limited by the potential energy associated with the pressurized fluid, rather than by the volume of available fluid. Suspending liquid density was varied between 960 and 1000 kg m-3 by changing methanol concentrations from 5 to 20%. Particle size (4 & 45 microns) and concentration (1 to 5 vol%) were varied in order to change particle settling characteristics and control bulk mixture density. Variations in reservoir pressure and vent size allowed exploration of the controlling source parameters, buoyancy flux (Bo) and momentum flux (Mo). The velocity-height relationship of each experiment was documented by high-speed video, permitting classification of the laboratory flows, which ranged from long continuously accelerating jets, to starting plumes, to low-energy thermals, to collapsing fountains generating density currents. Field-documented Vulcanian explosions exhibit this same wide range of behavior (Self et al. 1979, Nature 277; Sparks & Wilson 1982, Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 69; Druitt et al. 2002, Geol. Soc. London, 21), demonstrating that flows obtained in the laboratory are relevant to natural systems. A generalized framework of results was defined as follows. Increasing Mo/Bo for small particles (4 microns; settling time > experiment duration) pushes the system from low-energy thermals toward high-energy, continuously accelerating jets; increasing Mo/Bo for large particles (>45 microns; settling time < experiment duration) pushes the system from a low collapsing fountain to a high collapsing fountain; and increasing particle size for collapsing fountains decreases runout distance of gravity currents and increases production of current-generated rising plumes.

Proton conduction is directly related to the diffusion of hydrogen through the Nernst-Einstein equation, but prior attempts to use this relationship have always invoked additional terms to try to reconcile proton conduction and hydrogen diffusion data. However, experimental data on hydrogen diffusion through the mineral lattice only constrain the rate of proton migration coupled with defects (such as vacancies) or coupled to polarons (electron holes mostly associated to ferric iron) and not the diffusion of uncoupled free protons. New diffusion experiments on olivine demonstrate that lattice diffusion associated to vacancies is indeed highly dependent on the defect site where hydrogen is bonded, but in any case is not fast enough to explain the observed laboratory proton conductionexperiments. Hydrogen diffusion associated to polarons (redox-exchange) is significantly faster but still cannot explain the low activation energy typical of electrical conductivity measurements. A process of bulk diffusion, which combines lattice diffusion (either associated to redox-exchange or vacancies) with the far faster grain boundary diffusion, explains both the laboratory results and also field observations, and infers an average grain size of 0.5-2 cm at 100 km below the Jagersfontein kimberlite field on the Kaapvaal craton, which is consistent with petrological observations on xenolith material. Beneath the Gibeon kimberlite field on the nearby Rehoboth terrane, the higher conductivity observed cannot solely be explained by elevated temperature; either there is more water in the lithosphere (approx. double), or the average grain size is smaller (approx. half), or a combination of the two.

Laboratory tests were conducted on barrier materials to determine if their hydraulic conductivity changes as a result of freezing and thawing. esults of the tests were compared to data collected from a field study. ests were conducted on two compacted clays, one sand-bentonite mi...

This manual contains instructions for laboratory exercises using marine organisms. For each exercise a problem is defined, materials are listed, possible ways to solve the problem are suggested, questions are asked to guide the student in interpreting data, and further reading is suggested. The exercises deal with the measurement of oxygen…

Questionnaires concerning the nature of work performed and the work setting, plans for continuing formal education, and opinions regarding the relevancy of training received were sent to all individuals (3,282) certified by the Board of Certified Laboratory Assistants (CLA's) since certification began in 1965. Some findings from the 970 returned…

Argonne National Laboratory has the largest U.S. program for the development of blanket technology. The goals of the program are to resolve critical issues for different blanket concepts, to develop the understanding and predictive capability of blanket behavior, and to develop the technology needed to build and operate advanced fusion blankets. The projects within the program are liquid metal MHD,

In 1992, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to discontinue above- and below-ground testing of nuclear weapons. Because of this, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) must rely on laboratoryexperiments and computer-based calculations to verify the reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile. The Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM) Z machine was developed by the DOE to support its science-based approach to stockpile stewardship. SNL/NM researchers also use the Z machine to test radiation effects on various materials in experiments designed to mimic nuclear explosions. Numerous components, parts, and materials have been tested. These experiments use a variety of radionuclides; however, plutonium (Pu) isotopes with greater than ninety-eight percent enrichment are the primary radionuclides used in the experiments designed for stockpile stewardship. In May 2006, SNL/NM received authority that the Z Machine Isentropic Compression Experiments could commence. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) provided the plutonium targets and loaded the target assemblies, which were fabricated by SNL/NM. LANL shipped the loaded assemblies to SNL/NM for Z machine experiments. Three experiments were conducted from May through July 2006. The residues from each experiment, which weighed up to 913 pounds, were metallic and packaged into a respective 55-gallon drum each. Based on a memorandum of understanding between the two laboratories, LANL provides the plutonium samples and the respective radio-isotopic information. SNL/NM conducts the experiments and provides temporary storage for the drums until shipment to LANL for final waste certification for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico. This paper presents a comprehensive approach for documenting generator knowledge for characterization of waste in cooperation with scientists at the two laboratories and addresses a variety of topics such as material control and accountability, safeguards of material, termination of safeguards for eventual shipment from SNL/NM to LANL, associated approvals from DOE-Carlsbad Field Office, which governs WIPP and various notifications. It portrays a comprehensive approach needed for successful completion of a complex project between two national laboratories.

Argonne National Laboratory has the largest US program for the development of blanket technology. The goals of the program are to resolve critical issues for different blanket concepts, to develop the understanding and predictive capability of blanket behavior, and to develop the technology needed to build and operate advanced fusion blankets. The projects within the program are liquid metal MHD, breeder neutronics, tritium oxidation, transient electromagnetics, FLIBE chemistry, and insulator coatings. The present status and recent results of the projects are described.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is a society of professionals dedicated to the health and safety of workers and community. With more than 10,000 members, the AIHA is the largest international association serving occupational and environmental health professionals practicing industrial hygiene in private industry, academia, government, labor, and independent organizations. In 1973, AIHA developed a National Industrial Hygiene Laboratory Accreditation Program. The purposes of this program are shown.

A laboratoryexperiment was conducted to investigate the transfer of organic contaminants from an environmentally contaminated marine sediment through a simple marine food chain. The infaunal polychaete, Nereis virens, was exposed to contaminated sediment collected from the Passa...

Describes an apparatus (built from domestic plumbing pipes and fittings) that uses only water and electricity (as consumables) to investigate basic mass and heat balances in a system with recycle. Also describes experiments using the apparatus. (JN)

Ferrate, which is a strong iron oxidant for removing pollutants from water, is developed electrochemically in the laboratory, and used for experiments simulating environmental situations. Thus, ferrate is a powerful oxidizing agent capable of destroying an immense variety of contaminants.

Reviews the principles of liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (LCEC), an analytical technique that incorporates the advantages of both liquids chromatography and electrochemistry. Also suggests laboratoryexperiments using this technique. (MLH)

The spatial and temporal scales of astrophysical phenomena are typically 10-20 orders of magnitude greater than those of laboratoryexperiments intended to simulate them. Accordingly, the issue of similarity between the astrophysical phenomenon and its laboratory counterpart becomes quite important. Note also that in astrophysics, one is often dealing with highly dynamical systems, where orders of magnitude variation of the

This paper presents an analysis of the scientific reasoning of a dyad of secondary school students about the phenomenon of dissolution of gases in water as they work on this in a simulated laboratoryexperiment. A web-based virtual laboratory was developed to provide learners with the opportunity to examine the influence of physical factors on gas…

Argonne National Laboratory has the largest U.S. program for the development of blanket technology. The goals of the program are to resolve critical issues for different blanket concepts, to develop the understanding and predictive capability of blanket behavior, and to develop the technology needed to build and operate advanced fusion blankets. The projects within the program are liquid metal MHD, breeder neutronics, tritium oxidation, transient electromagnetics, FLIBE chemistry, and insulator coatings. The present status and recent results of the projects are described.

Rockfalls, debris flows and rock avalanches represent a major natural hazard for the population in mountainous, volcanic and coastal areas but their direct observation on the field is very difficult. Recent field studies showed that gravitational instabilities can be detected, localized and characterized thanks to the seismic signal they generate. Therefore, a burning challenge for risks assessment related to these events is to obtain quantiative informations on the characteristics of the rockfalls (mass, speed, extension,...) from the properties of the signal (seismic energy, frequencies,...). Using a theoretical model of viscoelastic impact of a sphere on a plane, we develop analytical scaling laws relating the energy radiated in elastic waves, the energy dissipated in viscoelasticity during the impact and the frequencies of the generated seismic signal to the mass m and the impact speed V z of the sphere and to the elastic parameters of the involved materials. The radiated elastic energy is shown to vary as m5/3V z11/5 on plates and as mV z13/5 on blocks, regardless of the elastic parameters. The energy dissipated in viscoelasticity does not depend on the support thickness and varies as m2/3V z11/5. The mean frequency of the generated signal is inversely proportional to the impact duration. Then, we conduct simple laboratoryexperiments that consist in dropping spherical beads of different size and materials and small gravels on thin plates of glass and PMMA and rock blocks. In the experiments, piezoelectric accelerometers are used to record the signals in a wide frequency range: 1 Hz to 56 kHz. The experiments are also monitored optically using fast cameras. The elastic energy emitted by an impact on the supports is first quantitatively estimated and compared to the potential energy of fall and to the potential energy change during the shock. We observe a quantitative agreement between experimental data and the analytical scaling laws, even when we use small gravels instead of spherical beads as impactors. These experiments allows to valid the theoretical model and to establish the energy budget of an impact. The established scaling laws are also tested for real scale experiments of boulders impacts conducted in Tahiti, French Polynesia. Empirical scaling laws are finally established to relate the dynamics and the initial parameters (mass, aspect ratio i.e., height over length, and bead diameter) of granular flows with the metrics of the generated seismic signal.

The results from the national outside laboratory qualitative control of the clinical diagnostic laboratory investigations for the period September 1975 -- May 1977 were described. The following interlaboratory discrepancy was found on base of a systematic analysis of the data from the last two ring-like check-ups, November 1976 and May 1977, exressed by the variation coefficient (V.C. %); total protein, sodium, potassium and chlorides -- under 10%; cholesterol, urea and total fats -- between 10 and 20%; calcium, phosphorus, iron and creatinine -- over 20%. The highest per cent of admissible results are found with total protein -- to 85%; cholesterol -- to 70.38%; glucosa -- to 73.17%, urea -- to 69.23%, potassium -- to 59.46%, chlorides -- to 57.9%. With sodium, phosphorus, calcium, iron creatinine and uric acid the "admissibility" fluctuates about or under 50 per cent. The values of the qualitative-control indices discussed are comparable with the values obtained from them in the interlaboratory comparisons of other countries. PMID:494628

As the increasing of contamination in soil and groundwater, there is a demand for fast, accurate, and cost-effective techniques for contaminated site investigation. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is a nondestructive geophysical method that allows, in real time, simultaneous estimation of both the dielectric constant and the bulk soil electrical conductivity (EC). On such bases, TDR is a technique that could potentially be adapted for continuous monitoring of solute contaminants in soil and water. The objective of this study is to assess the performance of TDR for estimating the EC and the solute concentration through the laboratoryexperiments and then applied it to a field of mercury contamination in the sediments. Measurement of EC using TDR is based on the attenuation of the applied voltage as it traverses the medium of interest. Once the geometric constant of the probe can be determined and the mismatch of the TDR instrument can be corrected during the experimental setup, EC can easily be accurately evaluated through a single TDR measurement on the considered sample. The results obtained from the laboratoryexperiments showed the good agreement between the TDR measurement and conductivity meter, and the linear relationship between EC and solute concentration is also validated. Given a specific concentration of solution, the decrease of EC with the decrease of water content followed Archie's law. Experiments with releasing a pulse and continuous potassium nitrate solutions into a soil column were conducted to demonstrate the TDR capability of real time monitoring. The results showed that the breakthrough curve (BC) can be accurately and clearly delineated by the TDR measurement. In this study, the TDR application was also extended to a contaminated site in southern Taiwan. The mercury contaminated sediments were deposited at the bottom of saline lakes and the TDR probes were modified to overcome the measurement under the water. The field work showed that the spatial distribution of relative-high mercury concentrations could be identified by TDR. Although the absolute mercury concentration is still undetermined, but the feasibility of using TDR as a reference tool for contaminant site investigation and self-assessment of remediation was successfully demonstrated.

Numerous laboratory shock recovery experiments performed over the past 50 years have provided substantial data on the effects of shock waves on rocks and minerals. However, it has become increasingly clear that the pressure "calibrations" based on shock effects observed in these experiments are inconsistent with interpretations based on static high-pressure data. A fundamental question is whether shock pressures are somehow different from static high pressures. Fifty years ago, many journal reviewers doubted that phase transformations could take place on a sub-microsecond time scale. Shock wave workers responded by invoking "special" properties of shock compression. However, all available evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that phase transitions under shock pressure are no different from phase transitions under static high pressures. The discrepancies noted above result from the fact that the parameter space, especially shock pressure duration, accessible to shock recovery experiments is so small by comparison with natural events. Furthermore virtually all shock recovery experiments on rocks and minerals have used high impedance sample containers, with the result that the samples have been subjected to thermodynamic loading paths substantially from a natural event. Consider the case of a chondritic meteorite made up of minerals having a wide range of shock properties. In a natural shock event the transient (nano-second scale) shock pressure at the shock front can vary by as much as an order of magnitude from grain to grain or even within a single grain. There are corresponding local differences in shock temperature. Assuming a mineral grain size of about a mm, the pressure inhomogeneities will equilibrate in less than a microsecond, wheras the temperature inhomogenities will require seconds to equilibrate. Recent studies of high-pressure phases in meteorites have provided evidence for pressure durations in the range of seconds, long enough for high pressure phases to crystallize from a melt or transform via solid-solid mechanisms. In contrast, the sample shock loaded in a laboratoryexperiment in a high impedance container reaches peak pressure via a series of shock reflections. As a result, shock and post-shock temperatures correspond to a sample naturally shocked to a substantially lower ( 20-60 %, dependent on sample mineralogy and porosity) equilibrium pressure. The effect of differences in the shock properties of the individual minerals is also greatly reduced. Shock pressure durations in the range of seconds have been inferred from studies of naturally shocked meteorites, whereas the effective duration of a shock recovery experiment is about a microsecond. Shock effects that involve reconstructive phase transformations, and therefore nucleation and growth, are highly dependent on both temperature and duration. Finally, the laboratoryexperiments are conducted on a small scale; samples cool from their equilibrium post-shock temperature in seconds. In a large natural event, the cooling time can be thousands of years.

Sandia designed a 12-inch diameter payload for the Nike Tomahawk booster system to carry a LASL barium injection experiment. The payload included a telemetry system for monitoring payload performance, an attitude control system to aim the injection perpendicular to the magnetic field lines and a command system to permit ground control of on-board payload functions. Sandia also provided necessary support

Describes an experiment to illustrate the effect of food source and added nutrients (N) on microbial activity in the soil. Supplies include air-dried soil, dried plant material, sources of carbon and nitrogen, a trap such as KOH, colored water, and a 500-mL Erlenmeyer flask. Includes a diagram of an incubation chamber to demonstrate microbial…

This experiment is designed to acquaint the student with a macromolecular synthesis of a crown ether type compound. The starting materials are readily available and the product, a cyclic polyether, belongs to a class of compounds that has aroused the interest of chemist and biologist alike. (Author/BB)

The production of acoustic noise by fluid flows has been studied experimentally within engineering aeroacoustics for over 50 years. These works aim to correlate flow properties and dynamics with the produced acoustic spectra (i.e., patterns of frequencies and amplitude). These correlations are used to design flow fields in man-made jet engines and other machines to reduce the production of harmful acoustic signals and resulting hearing loss. Many of the flow fields in these man-made systems are analogous to those in volcanic eruptions. We postulate that the acoustic signals generated by these flows are also analogous and the aeroacoustics experimental results provide a starting point for modeling the noise generated by volcanic flow fields. Application of empirical results from these experiments to volcanic flow fields is non-trivial. Volcanic eruptions involve complexities not present in man-made experiments including but not limited to multiphase flow, buoyancy forces, and non-uniform atmosphere. This work explores methods by which some of the empirical results from aeroacoustics experiments can be modified for application to volcanic eruptions. Results are compared with observations of volcano infrasound. Preliminary comparison to numerical simulations of volcano infrasound may also be presented.

System optimization is reported along with mission and parameter requirements. Link establishment and maintenance requirements are discussed providing an acquisition and tracking scheme. The shuttle terminal configurations are considered and are included in the experiment definition.

The progress of laboratoryexperiments on Alfven's Critical Ionization Velocity (CIV) of gas plasma interaction is reviewed. Since the first review by Danielsson (1973), in which the occurrence of the CIV phenomenon in crossed field discharges and in plasma-gas impact experiments was proved, most of the investigations have been directed towards clarifying the microscopic mechanism of the CIV by means

This experiment employs current technology to enhance and extend existing lab content. The basic principles of spectroscopic and electroanalytical techniques and their use in determining material properties are covered in some detail in many undergraduate chemistry programs. However, there are limited examples of laboratoryexperiments with in…

Some of the more fundamental diffusion parameters measured in the CONDORS convective diffusion field experiment are compared with laboratoryexperiment and numerical modeling results by means of nondimensionalizations using convective scaling (i.e., mixing depth, z sub i, for len...

Students majoring in Engineering Technology programs at Western Washington University (USA) have many opportunities to participate in unique undergraduate research experiences and innovative laboratory programs. This paper describes the methods used by the faculty to integrate innovative design experiences into the undergraduate programs at Western Washington University. The CIM projects in the Manufacturing Engineering Technology program are used to illustrate

Describes a laboratoryexperiment for freeze-drying fruits and vegetables which aims to expose college students to the principles of drying and simultaneous heat and mass transfer. The experimental apparatus, procedure of the experiment, and data analysis are also included. (HM)

In alluvial plains, intensive farming with conspicuous use of agrochemicals, can cause land pollution and groundwater contamination. In central Po River plain, paleo-channels are important links between arable lands and the underlaying aquifer, since the latter is often confined by clay sediments that act as a barrier against contaminants migration. Therefore, paleo-channels are recharge zones of particular interest that have to be protected from pollution as they are commonly used for water supply. This paper focuses on fertilizer mobilization next to a sand pit excavated in a paleo-channel near Ferrara (Italy). The problem is approached via batch test leaking and columns elution of alluvial sediments. Results from batch experiments showed fast increase in all major cations and anions, suggesting equilibrium control of dissolution reactions, limited availability of solid phases and geochemical homogeneity of samples. In column experiments, early elution and tailing of all ions breakthrough was recorded due to preferential flow paths. For sediments investigated in this study, dispersion, dilution and chemical reactions can reduce fertilizers at concentration below drinking standards in a reasonable time frame, provided fertilizer loading is halted or, at least, reduced. Thus, the definition of a corridor along paleo-channels is recommended to preserve groundwater quality.

The general objective of this research was to assess the effects of exposure to simulated microgravity on ultrastructural aspects of the contractile system in chicken skeletal muscle cells. This general objective had two specific experimental components: (1) the progression of changes in cell morphology, fusion, and patterns of contractile filament organization in muscle cell cultures grown in hollow fibers in the Clinostat were evaluated, with appropriate controls; (2) to initiate experiments in which muscle cells were grown on the surface of microcarrier beads. The ultimate objective of this second portion of the work is to determine if these beads can be rotated in a bioreactor and thereby obtain a more accurate approximation of the effects of simulated microgravity on differentiated muscle cells.

Proceedings are presented of a conference sponsored by the Physics and Chemistry Experiments in Space Working Group to discuss the scientific and engineering aspects involved in the design and performance of reduced to zero gravity experiments affected by spacecraft environments and dynamics. The dynamics of drops, geophysical fluids, and superfluid helium are considered as well as two phase flow, combustion, and heat transfer. Interactions between spacecraft motions and the atmospheric cloud physics laboratoryexperiments are also examined.

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is involved in an active program of CSI flight experiments. The first CSI flight experiment of the Naval Research Laboratory, the Low Power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (LACE) dynamics experiment, has successfully measured vibrations of an orbiting satellite with a ground-based laser radar. The observations, made on January 7, 8 and 10, 1991, represent the first ever measurements of this type. In the tests, a narrowband heterodyne CO2 laser radar, operating at a wavelength of 10.6 microns, detected vibration induced differential-Doppler signatures of the LACE satellite. Power spectral densities of forced oscillations and modal frequencies and damping rates of free-damped vibrations were obtained and compared with finite element structural models of the LACE system. Another manifested flight experiment is the Advanced Controls Technology Experiment (ACTEX) designed to demonstrate active and passive damping with piezo-electric (PZT) sensors and actuators. This experiment was developed under the management of the Air Force Phillips Laboratory with integration of the experiment at NRL. It is to ride as a secondary, or 'piggyback,' experiment on a future Navy satellite.

The Propulsion Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Technology Experiment (PITEX) is a continuing NASA effort being conducted cooperatively by the NASA Glenn Research Center, the NASA Ames Research Center, and the NASA Kennedy Space Center. It was a key element of a Space Launch Initiative risk-reduction task performed by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in El Segundo, California. PITEX's main objectives are the continued maturation of diagnostic technologies that are relevant to second generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV) subsystems and the assessment of the real-time performance of the PITEX diagnostic solution. The PITEX effort has considerable legacy in the NASA IVHM Technology Experiment for X-vehicles (NITEX) that was selected to fly on the X-34 subscale RLV that was being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. NITEX, funded through the Future-X Program Office, was to advance the technology-readiness level of selected IVHM technologies within a flight environment and to begin the transition of these technologies from experimental status into RLV baseline designs. The experiment was to perform realtime fault detection and isolation and suggest potential recovery actions for the X-34 main propulsion system (MPS) during all mission phases by using a combination of system-level analysis and detailed diagnostic algorithms.

To determine the effects of target yield strength and viscosity on the formation and morphology of Martian multilobed, slosh and rampart-type impact craters, 75 experiments in which target properties and impact energies were varied were carried out for high-speed motion picture observation in keeping with the following sequence: (1) projectile initial impact; (2) crater excavation and rise of ejecta plume; (3) formation of a transient central mound which generates a surge of material upon collapse that can partly override the plume deposit; and (4) oscillation of the central mound with progressively smaller surges of material leaving the crater. A dimensional analysis of the experimental results indicates that the dimensions of the central mound are proportional to (1) the energy of the impacting projectile and (2) to the inverse of both the yield strength and viscosity of the target material, and it is determined that extrapolation of these results to large Martian craters requires an effective surface layer viscosity of less than 10 to the 10th poise. These results may also be applicable to impacts on outer planet satellites composed of ice-silicate mixtures.

We will present experimental results on formation of supersonic radiatively cooled plasma jets with dimensionless parameters (Mach number ˜20, cooling parameter ˜1 and density contrast ?j/?a ˜10) similar to those in proto-stellar jets. Two different experimental configurations are used. In the first the produced jets are purely hydrodynamic and are used to study deflection of the jets by the cross-wind. The ``cross wind'' leads to deflection of the jet through formation of internal oblique shocks in the jet and we will discuss the relevance of these observations to the astrophysical systems. In the second configuration the jets have toroidal magnetic field and the plasma beta in these jets is of the order of unity. We will present experimental data on the dynamics of ``magnetic bubble'' surrounding the jet and on the development of m=0,1 instabilities in the jet. Although at later times the jet column is observed to go unstable, we observe that the jet retains its collimation. Modifications of the experimental configuration allowing addition of the poloidal magnetic field and angular momentum to the jet will be also discussed. The experiments are scalable to astrophysical flows in that critical dimensionless numbers such as the plasma collisionality, the plasma beta and the magnetic Reynolds number are all in the astrophysically appropriate ranges. In collaboration with A. Ciardi, D. Ampleford, S.N. Bland, S.C. Bott, J.P. Chittenden, G. Hall, C. Jennings, J. Rapley A. Frank, E. G. Blackman, T. Lery.

Some of the most important molecular species observed in interstellar clouds are not formed efficiently enough by reactions occurring in the gas phase and therefore dust grains may play the fundamental role of catalysts. In this talk I will report on experiments performed recently on surfaces and in conditions close to those encountered in the ISM to obtain the production rate of molecular hydrogen and carbon dioxide and to deduce hints on the mechanisms that may be responsible for their formation. The choice to concentrate our attention on these species has been dictated by their unquestionable relevance. H2 is undoubtedly the most important molecule in space: it is in fact by several orders of magnitude the most abundant; it actively enters in all gas phase reaction schemes that produce other chemical species and it provides efficient cooling to clouds that, reducing their energy budget, facilitates their gravitational collapse and hence the formation of stars. CO2 is observed in a wide variety of interstellar regions, in warm proto-stellar objects and also in dense quiescent clouds, but almost exclusively in the solid phase, it therefore may be considered a good probe of surface chemistry. I will also briefly describe some of the modeling performed by us and of the astrophysical consequences that can be deduced.

The Chalk River Laboratories Tritium Laboratory has been operating safely and reliably for over 20 years. Safe operations are achieved through proper management, supervision, training and using approved operating procedures and techniques. Reliability is achieved through appropriate equipment selection, routine equipment surveillance testing and routine preventative maintenance. This paper summarizes the laboratory's standard operating protocols and formal compliance programs followed to ensure safe operations. The paper will also review the general set-up of the laboratory and will focus on the experience gained with the operation of various types of equipment such as tritium monitors, tritium analyzers, pumps, purification systems and other systems used in the laboratory during its 20 years of operation.

One of the goals of science education is to provide students with the ability to construct arguments--reasoning and thinking critically in a scientific context. Over the years, many studies have been conducted on constructing arguments in science teaching, but only few of them have dealt with studying argumentation in the laboratory. Our research…

The present paper reviews recent laboratoryexperiments on magnetic reconnection. Examples will be drawn from electron current sheet experiments, merging spheromaks, and from high temperature tokamak plasmas with the Lundquist numbers exceeding 10{sup 7}. These recent laboratoryexperiments create an environment which satisfies the criteria for MHD plasma and in which the global boundary conditions can be controlled externally. Experiments with fully three dimensional reconnection are now possible. In the most recent TFTR tokamak discharges, Motional Stark effect (MSE) data have verified the existence of a partial reconnection. In the experiment of spheromak merging, a new plasma acceleration parallel to the neutral line has been indicated. Together with the relationship of these observations to the analysis of magnetic reconnection in space and in solar flares, important physics issues such as global boundary conditions, local plasma parameters, merging angle of the field lines, and the 3-D aspects of the reconnection are discussed.

The effect of film thickness on the conduction behavior of electrically conductive adhesives is presented. For comparison purposes, an analytical relation is developed to predict the three-dimensional resistivity of particle-filled conductive adhesives. This analysis reveals that the adhesive's resistivity depends on parameters m, representing an average contact number, and Si, representing the average length of conductive paths between the conductive

Critical issues involved in large eddy simulation (LES) experiments relate to the treatment of unresolved subgrid scale flow features and required initial and boundary condition supergrid scale modelling. The inherently intrusive nature of both LES and laboratoryexperiments is noted in this context. Flow characterization issues becomes very challenging ones in validation and computational laboratory studies, where potential sources of discrepancies between predictions and measurements need to be clearly evaluated and controlled. A special focus of the discussion is devoted to turbulent initial condition issues.

This paper concerns the problems of electromagnetic compatibility of military equipment. There were presented the measurement methodology and a description of the laboratory stand for measuring conducted emissions from military equipment in frequency bandwidth from 10kHz to 10MHz in accordance with the procedure CE-102 of MIL-STD-461E standard. The laboratory stand mentioned above is used to do research in scope of

The selection and definition of candidate experiments and the associated experiment instrumentation requirements are described. Information is presented that addresses the following study objectives: (1) determine specific research and technology needs in the comm/nav field through a survey of the scientific/technical community; (2) develop manned low earth orbit space screening criteria and compile lists of potential candidate experiments; (3) in Blue Book format, define and describe selected candidate experiments in sufficient detail to develop laboratory configuration designs and layouts; and (4) develop experiment time phasing criteria and recommend a payload for sortie can/early laboratory missions.

An overview of experiments is presented, in which the physical dimensions, emittance and perveance are scaled to explore driver-relevant beam dynamics. Among these are beam merging, focusing to a small spot, and bending and recirculating beams. The Virtual National Laboratory for Heavy Ion Fusion (VNL) is also developing two driver-scale beam experiments involving heavy-ion beams with I(sub beam) about 1

The extraction of trimyristin from nutmeg, its purification, and its conversion to a soap (sodium myristate) are described. Concepts such as the isolation of a natural product, recrystallization, identification of a solid, solubility, acidity and basicity, and organic reaction can be presented to students using integrated experiments in an introductory experimental chemistry laboratory. These experiments can easily be done in three class periods of four hours.

See Letter re: this article.

This article describes the application of phase-transfer catalysis within an undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory. Phase-transfer catalysis has been covered extensively in various books, articles, and patents. Many important industrial products are manufactured using this technique. However, very little of the subject is reflected in current undergraduate curriculum. The kinetic experiment designed here introduces many important concepts in phase-transfer catalysis and nucleophilic displacement reactions involving both mechanism and kinetics. Since this laboratory exploration includes catalytic reactions, organic synthesis, and chemical analysis, it covers many areas of chemistry. Thus, we believe this can be an important contribution to the students' learning. In this experiment, we have demonstrated that the reactions of alkyl bromides with NaCl under phase-transfer conditions can be carried out replacing bromide with chloride via a nucleophilic displacement reaction within a three-hour physical chemistry laboratory period.

The validity of the human state estimation method based on the physiological measures as the source information for the mutual adaptive interface (MADI) proposed in the preceding paper has been shown through the laboratoryexperiments. The neural network has been adopted as the real-time estimation method for the short term state. The statistical properties of the physiological measures are shown

LABORATORYEXPERIMENT 7 Determination of Copper in Copper Alloys Two procedures for Cu determination in the same alloy sample will be used. Both are based on Cu2+ reduction. I. The Electrogravimetric Determination of Copper in Alloy A convenient example of an electrogravimetric method of analysis

An experiment using [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy to observe the kinetics of the acylase 1-catalyzed hydrolysis of "N"-acetyl-DL-methionine has been developed for the organic laboratory. The L-enantiomer of the reactant is hydrolyzed completely in less than 2 h, and [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopic data from a single sample can be worked up…

LABORATORYEXPERIMENT 7 The Iodometric Determination of Copper in Brass Discussion The method. To perform it, a sample of pure copper foil (100% Cu with uncertainty lees than 0.2%) is treated as described above, simultaneously with your sample. From titration of pure copper standard you calculate the precise

"Visualization" of chemical phenomena often has been limited in the teaching laboratories to the sense of sight. We have developed chemistry experiments that rely on senses other than eyesight to investigate chemical concepts, make quantitative determinations, and familiarize students with chemical techniques traditionally designed using only…

This paper describes a joint Control Structure Interaction (CSI) experiment in which Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) damping devices were incorporated into the Langley Research Center (LaRC) Phase 0 Testbed. The goals of the effort were twofold: (1) test the effectiveness of the JPL structural damping methods in a new structure and (2) assess the feasibility of combining JPL local control

noise pollution caused by traffic noise from cars and trains in urban space. However, installationEvaluation of noise barriers for soundscape perception through laboratoryexperiments J.Y. Honga noise barriers. Field measurements were performed: the SPLs in front and rear of the barriers were

The emplacement of heat-generating nuclear waste in the potential geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, will result in enhanced water-rock interaction around the emplacement drifts. Water present in the matrix and fractures of the rock around the drift may vaporize and migrate via fractures to cooler regions where condensation would occur. The condensate would react with the surrounding rock, resulting in mineral dissolution. Mineralized water flowing under gravity back towards the heat zone would boil, depositing the dissolved minerals. Such mineral deposition would reduce porosity and permeability above the repository, thus altering the flow paths of percolating water. The objective of this research is to use coupled thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) models to simulate previously conductedlaboratoryexperiments involving tuff dissolution and mineral precipitation in a boiling, unsaturated fracture. Numerical simulations of tuff dissolution and fracture plugging were performed using a modified version of the TOUGHREACT code developed at LBNL by T. Xu and K. Pruess. The models consider the transport of heat, water, gas and dissolved constituents, reactions between gas, mineral and aqueous phases, and the coupling of porosity and permeability to mineral dissolution and precipitation. The model dimensions and initial fluid chemistry, rock mineralogy, permeability, and porosity were defined using the experimental conditions. A 1-D plug-flow model was used to simulate dissolution resulting from reaction between deionized water and crushed ash flow tuff. A 2-D model was developed to simulate the flow of mineralized water through a planar fracture within a block of ash flow tuff where boiling conditions led to mineral precipitation. Matrix blocks were assigned zero permeability to confine fluid flow to the fracture, and permeability changes in the fracture were specified using the porosity cubic law relationship.

Studies on effect of bis(tri-n-butyltin)oxide (TBTO) and other organotins on marine species have been conducted at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's laboratory at Gulf Breeze, Florida, since 1983. First studies were done on two species of algae, Skeletonema costatum and ...

To simulate a submerged combustion evaporation (SCE) process under laboratory conditions, this study conducted three kinds of indirect-heating evaporation experiments, including normal evaporation, vacuum evaporation, and gas-carrying evaporation experiments on mature municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate. The results showed that the organic concentrations in terms of COD in condensates were always very high at the beginning, then decreased rapidly,

The HPF project (Hyperalkaline Plume in Fractured Rock) at the Grimsel Test Site (Switzerland) comprised an underground long-term field experiment in a water-conducting shear zone, in situ radionuclide transport experiments, two laboratory core infiltration experiments, and supporting studies. The feasibility of longer-term field experiments under difficult geochemical conditions has been demonstrated, accompanied by advances in equipment design, measurement and analysis

Details are provided for scheduling, cost estimates, and support research and technology requirements for a space shuttle supported manned research laboratory to conduct selected communication and navigation experiments. A summary of the candidate program and its time phasing is included, as well as photographs of the 1/20 scale model of the shuttle supported Early Comm/Nav Research Lab showing the baseline, in-bay arrangement and the out-of-bay configuration.

Results are reported for laboratory measurements of the dc and low-frequency ac electrical conductivity of three lunar rocks with ferrous iron contents of 5 to 26 wt %. The measurements were made at temperatures ranging from 20 to 1000 C, and Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to determine the dependence of electrical conductivity on furnace atmosphere. It is found that the magnitude of electrical conductivity generally increases with increasing iron content. A comparison of the data on these samples with data on terrestrial olivines and pyroxenes shows that the electrical conductivity of anhydrous silicate minerals is influenced primarily by the concentration, oxidation state, and distribution of iron, while the silicate crystal structure is only of secondary importance. Lunar interior temperatures are deduced from experimental lunar conductivity profiles, and the resulting temperature-depth profiles are found to be consistent with those calculated for two different lunar evolutionary models as well as with various experimental constraints.

Virtual laboratoryexperiments using interactive computer simulations are not being employed as viable alternatives to laboratory science curriculum at extensive enough rates within higher education. Rote traditional lab experiments are currently the norm and are not addressing inquiry, Critical Thinking, and cognition throughout the laboratoryexperience, linking with educational technologies (Pyatt & Sims, 2007; 2011; Trundle & Bell, 2010). A causal-comparative quantitative study was conducted with 150 learners enrolled at a two-year community college, to determine the effects of simulation laboratoryexperiments on Higher-Order Learning, Critical Thinking Skills, and Cognitive Load. The treatment population used simulated experiments, while the non-treatment sections performed traditional expository experiments. A comparison was made using the Revised Two-Factor Study Process survey, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, and the Scientific Attitude Inventory survey, using a Repeated Measures ANOVA test for treatment or non-treatment. A main effect of simulated laboratoryexperiments was found for both Higher-Order Learning, [F (1, 148) = 30.32,p = 0.00, eta2 = 0.12] and Critical Thinking Skills, [F (1, 148) = 14.64,p = 0.00, eta 2 = 0.17] such that simulations showed greater increases than traditional experiments. Post-lab treatment group self-reports indicated increased marginal means (+4.86) in Higher-Order Learning and Critical Thinking Skills, compared to the non-treatment group (+4.71). Simulations also improved the scientific skills and mastery of basic scientific subject matter. It is recommended that additional research recognize that learners' Critical Thinking Skills change due to different instructional methodologies that occur throughout a semester.

In recent years infrasonic monitoring at volcanoes has become an increasingly common tool. Much of the current work on interpreting volcano infrasound has concentrated on Strombolian eruptions, and several mechanisms have been suggested for the sound produced at these eruptions. However, the precise mechanisms at the vent need to be identified and understood if infrasound recorded in the field is to be used to infer conditions in the volcanic system. In this work, laboratoryexperiments using audio recordings coupled with high speed video footage have been conducted to gain a deeper understanding of these sounds. A simplified analogue model is used as an analogy for a Strombolian eruption: an air bubble rises through a tank containing a viscous Newtonian liquid (golden syrup) and bursts at the surface. Although the experimental set-up is simple and idealized, it allows control of physical properties and measurement of the processes observed far more accurately than would be possible in the field. Physical parameters which may control the form of the acoustic wave produced, such as liquid viscosity (achieved by dilution of pure golden syrup with water) and bubble volume are investigated. Initial results show that the onset of the main part of the acoustic waveform occurs concurrently with the onset of bubble rupture. Trends in the amplitude and frequency of the acoustic waveform, as well as bubble rupture speed are seen as the liquid viscosity varied. A number of candidate mechanisms for the production of sound during the experiments have been investigated, and synthetic waveforms compared to experimental data. These include the flow of gas through a growing hole from a pressurised reservoir (the bubble), and the mass flux due to the collapse of the bubble film. Importantly it has been shown that even in this very simple case - the sound produced by the bursting of a hemispherical bubble formed at the surface of a viscous liquid - is not as simple as some theories might suggest. For example, the classic balloon burst equation (? = 2r/c where ? is waveform period, r is bubble radius and c is the speed of sound in air) over predicts the frequency of the waveform produced by an order of magnitude when compared to experimental data.

During the 1960s the Ministry of Education in Ghana created a network of school laboratories to increase scientific literacy among young citizens. The ministry stocked these "Science Centres" with imported beakers, Bunsen burners, and books. Education officials and university scientists worked with teachers to create lesson plans on water, air, plants, and other topics. The government hoped that scientifically minded schoolchildren would be better prepared to staff the industries of the future. The adoption of laboratory norms represented a desire for scientific equity, rather than a condition of cultural mimicry. Interviews with ministry officials and science educators, alongside letters and reports, indicate how students and teachers appropriated the laboratories in the small West African nation. Their experiences in mobilizing resources from across Ghana and around the world provide a metaphor for ongoing efforts to establish access to scientific goods in Africa. PMID:24783491

The USNRC has sponsored a number of programs at Sandia National Laboratories specifically addressing safety-related equipment qualification. The most visible of these programs has been the Qualification Testing Evaluation (QTE) program. Other relevant programs have included the Equipment Qualification Methodology Research Test program (CAP). Over a ten year period these programs have collectively tested numerous types of safety-related equipment. Some insights and conclusions extracted from these testing experiences are summarized in this report.

Laboratory and in-flight experiments were conducted to evaluate 3-D audio display technology for cockpit applications. A 3-D audio display generator was developed which digitally encodes naturally occurring direction information onto any audio signal and presents the binaural sound over headphones. The acoustic image is stabilized for head movement by use of an electromagnetic head-tracking device. In the laboratory, a 3-D audio display generator was used to spatially separate competing speech messages to improve the intelligibility of each message. Up to a 25 percent improvement in intelligibility was measured for spatially separated speech at high ambient noise levels (115 dB SPL). During the in-flight experiments, pilots reported that spatial separation of speech communications provided a noticeable improvement in intelligibility. The use of 3-D audio for target acquisition was also investigated. In the laboratory, 3-D audio enabled the acquisition of visual targets in about two seconds average response time at 17 degrees accuracy. During the in-flight experiments, pilots correctly identified ground targets 50, 75, and 100 percent of the time at separation angles of 12, 20, and 35 degrees, respectively. In general, pilot performance in the field with the 3-D audio display generator was as expected, based on data from laboratoryexperiments.

Collimated supersonic flows in laboratoryexperiments behave in a similar manner to astrophysical jets provided that radiation, viscosity, and thermal conductivity are unimportant in the laboratory jets and that the experimental and astrophysical jets share similar dimensionless parameters such as the Mach number and the ratio of the density between the jet and the ambient medium. When these conditions apply, laboratory jets provide a means to study their astrophysical counterparts for a variety of initial conditions, arbitrary viewing angles, and different times, attributes especially helpful for interpreting astronomical images where the viewing angle and initial conditions are fixed and the time domain is limited. Experiments are also a powerful way to test numerical fluid codes in a parameter range in which the codes must perform well. In this paper, we combine images from a series of laboratoryexperiments of deflected supersonic jets with numerical simulations and new spectral observations of an astrophysical example, the young stellar jet HH 110. The experiments provide key insights into how deflected jets evolve in three dimensions, particularly within working surfaces where multiple subsonic shells and filaments form, and along the interface where shocked jet material penetrates into and destroys the obstacle along its path. The experiments also underscore the importance of the viewing angle in determining what an observer will see. The simulations match the experiments so well that we can use the simulated velocity maps to compare the dynamics in the experiment with those implied by the astronomical spectra. The experiments support a model where the observed shock structures in HH 110 form as a result of a pulsed driving source rather than from weak shocks that may arise in the supersonic shear layer between the Mach disk and bow shock of the jet's working surface.

Collimated supersonic flows in laboratoryexperiments behave in a similar manner to astrophysical jets provided that radiation, viscosity, and thermal conductivity are unimportant in the laboratory jets and that the experimental and astrophysical jets share similar dimensionless parameters such as the Mach number and the ratio of the density between the jet and the ambient medium. When these conditions apply, laboratory jets provide a means to study their astrophysical counterparts for a variety of initial conditions, arbitrary viewing angles, and different times, attributes especially helpful for interpreting astronomical images where the viewing angle and initial conditions are fixed and the time domain is limited. Experiments are also a powerful way to test numerical fluid codes in a parameter range in which the codes must perform well. In this paper, we combine images from a series of laboratoryexperiments of deflected supersonic jets with numerical simulations and new spectral observations of an astrophysical example, the young stellar jet HH 110. The experiments provide key insights into how deflected jets evolve in three dimensions, particularly within working surfaces where multiple subsonic shells and filaments form, and along the interface where shocked jet material penetrates into and destroys the obstacle along its path. The experiments also underscore the importance of the viewing angle in determining what an observer will see. The simulations match the experiments so well that we can use the simulated velocity maps to compare the dynamics in the experiment with those implied by the astronomical spectra. The experiments support a model where the observed shock structures in HH 110 form as a result of a pulsed driving source rather than from weak shocks that may arise in the supersonic shear layer between the Mach disk and bow shock of the jet's working surface.

The required ventilation of the underground drifts during the construction and operational phases of a radioactive waste repository could give rise to a process of desaturation of the rock around the drifts, changing its hydraulic and thermal properties. This change of rock properties may have an impact on the design of the repositories (drift spacing and repository size), which depends on the thermal load that the clay barrier and the rock can accept. The ventilation experiment (VE) has been carried out at the Mont Terri underground laboratory (Switzerland). Its main objective was to evaluate ”in situ” and better understand the desaturation process of a consolidated clay formation, when subjected to a flow of dry air during several months. The experiment has been performed in a 10 m long section of a non-lined horizontal microtunnel (diameter = 1.3 m), excavated in 1999 in the shaly facies of the Opalinus clay. In the Summer of 2002 (3.4 years after the microtunnel excavation), the test section was sealed-off, and monitored with a total of 86 sensors (rock water potential, water content, temperature and displacement, and condition of the air in the test section). Specifically, in a rock thickness of approximately 2 m, 24 piezometers, 32 hygrometers, 8 extensometers and 5 electrode chains (geoelectrical survey) were installed. The ventilation equipment generates a flow of air ( Qin) with specified values of the relative humidity (RH in) and temperature ( Tin), which is sent to one of the ends of the test section through an inflow pipe, and then evacuated with an outflow pipe in the other end. Values of Qout, RH out and Tout are also measured in the outflow pipe. The desaturation period ( Qin = 30 m 3/h) began in July 2003, with a phase (?2 months) where RH in was set equal to 30% and another one (?5 months) with air inflow almost dry (RH in = 1-3%). After this desaturation period, the test was finished with a 3-months resaturation period (target Qin = 20 m 3/h and RH in ? 100%). The most important general conclusion obtained from this experiment, from the rock monitoring data and also from the modelling results, is the following: it can be reasonably predicted that, under real repository ventilation conditions (relative humidity of the air much higher than in the desaturation period of the VE test), the desaturation of clayey rocks of low hydraulic conductivity ( K < 10 -12 m/s) will not be a relevant issue. The thermal and hydraulic rock bulk characteristics will not be practically affected by the ventilation, except in a narrow ring around the wall of the galleries (thickness less than 30 cm), where the rock degree of saturation can be lower than 95%.

The Heavy Photon Search experiment (HPS) at Jefferson Laboratory will search for a new $U(1)$ massive gauge boson, or "heavy-photon," mediator of a new fundamental interaction, called "dark-force," that couples to ordinary photons trough kinetic mixing. HPS has sensitivity in the mass range 20 MeV - 1 GeV and coupling $\\varepsilon^2$ between 10$^{-5}$ and 10$^{-10}$. The HPS experiment will search for the $e^+e^-$ decay of the heavy photon, by resonance search and detached vertexing, in an electron beam fixed target experiment. HPS will use a compact forward spectrometer, which employs silicon microstrip detectors for vertexing and tracking, and a PbWO$_4$ electromagnetic calorimeter for energy measurement and fast triggering.

The Heavy Photon Search experiment (HPS) at Jefferson Laboratory will search for a new $U(1)$ massive gauge boson, or "heavy-photon," mediator of a new fundamental interaction, called "dark-force," that couples to ordinary photons trough kinetic mixing. HPS has sensitivity in the mass range 20 MeV - 1 GeV and coupling $\\varepsilon^2$ between 10$^{-5}$ and 10$^{-10}$. The HPS experiment will search for the $e^+e^-$ decay of the heavy photon, by resonance search and detached vertexing, in an electron beam fixed target experiment. HPS will use a compact forward spectrometer, which employs silicon microstrip detectors for vertexing and tracking, and a PbWO$_4$ electromagnetic calorimeter for energy measurement and fast triggering.

The Heavy Photon Search experiment (HPS) at Jefferson Laboratory will search for a new U(1) massive gauge boson, or "heavy-photon", mediator of a new fundamental interaction, called "dark-force", that couples to ordinary photons through kinetic mixing. HPS has sensitivity in the mass range 20 MeV – 1 GeV and coupling epsilon2 between 10?5 and 10?10. The HPS experiment will look for the e+e? decay of the heavy photon, by resonance search and detached vertexing, in an electron beam fixed target experiment. HPS will use a compact forward spectrometer, which employs silicon microstrip detectors for vertexing and tracking, and a PbWO4 electromagnetic calorimeter for energy measurement and fast triggering.

A new type of in-situ hydraulic permeameter was developed to determine vertical hydraulic conductivity (VHC) of saturated sediments from hydraulic experiments using Darcy's law. The system allows water to move upward through the porous media filled in the permeameter chamber driven into sediments at water-sediment interface. Darcy flux and hydraulic gradient can be measured using the system, and the VHC can be determined from the relationship between them using Darcy's law. Evaluations in laboratory and in field conditions were performed to see if the proposed permeameter give reliable and valid measures of the VHC even where the vertical flow at water-sediment interface and fluctuation of water stage exist without reducing the accuracy of the derived VHC. Results from the evaluation tests indicate that the permeameter proposed in this study can be used to measure VHC of saturated sandy sediments at water-sediment interface in stream and marine environment with high accuracy. PMID:25604984

Background Over the last decade several phase III microbicides trials have been conducted in developing countries. However, laboratories in resource constrained settings do not always have the experience, infrastructure, and the capacity to deliver laboratory data meeting the high standards of clinical trials. This paper describes the design and outcomes of a laboratory quality assurance program which was implemented during a phase III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of the candidate microbicide Cellulose Sulfate 6% (CS) [1]. Methodology In order to assess the effectiveness of CS for HIV and STI prevention, a phase III clinical trial was conducted in 5 sites: 3 in Africa and 2 in India. The trial sponsor identified an International Central Reference Laboratory (ICRL), responsible for the design and management of a quality assurance program, which would guarantee the reliability of laboratory data. The ICRL provided advice on the tests, assessed local laboratories, organized trainings, conducted supervision visits, performed re-tests, and prepared control panels. Local laboratories were provided with control panels for HIV rapid tests and Chlamydia trachomatis/Neisseria gonorrhoeae (CT/NG) amplification technique. Aliquots from respective control panels were tested by local laboratories and were compared with results obtained at the ICRL. Results Overall, good results were observed. However, discordances between the ICRL and site laboratories were identified for HIV and CT/NG results. One particular site experienced difficulties with HIV rapid testing shortly after study initiation. At all sites, DNA contamination was identified as a cause of invalid CT/NG results. Both problems were timely detected and solved. Through immediate feedback, guidance and repeated training of laboratory staff, additional inaccuracies were prevented. Conclusions Quality control guidelines when applied in field laboratories ensured the reliability and validity of final study data. It is essential that sponsors provide adequate resources for implementation of such comprehensive technical assessment and monitoring systems. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00153777 and Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN95638385 PMID:21048963

We performed laboratoryexperiments to investigate the interaction between a self-propagating barotropic cyclonic eddy with two vertical cylinders and determine the conditions for an eddy to bifurcate into two or more eddies. As in a previous study, fluid peeled off the edge of the vortex and a "streamer" went counterclockwise around the cylinder. For certain conditions, this fluid formed a new cyclone in the wake of the cylinder. In some cases, two "streamers" formed and went around the two obstacles, each forming a new cyclone. Three parameters were varied: G, the obstacle separation, d, the diameter of the incident vortex and Y, the distance of the center of the vortex from an axis passing through the center of the gap between the obstacles. The number of eddies generated by the interaction depends on the ratio G/d and on the geometry of the encounter, which is given by the ratio Y/g, where g=G/2. Furthermore, in some experiments we observed the formation of an eddy of opposite sign (anticyclonic) downstream of the two obstacles. This is in agreement with recent observations of North Brazil Current Rings, suggesting that these very idealized laboratoryexperiments may bring some insight to the fate of mesoscale eddies in the ocean. Supported by NSF grant OCE-0081756.

Payload specialists Patrick Baudry (left) and Sultan Salman Abdelazize Al-Saud team up to conduct a French Postural Experement (FPE) on the middeck of the Space shuttle Discovery during the STS 51-G flight. Behind them on the middeck walls are two sleep restraints.

Payload specialist Sultan Salman Abdelazize Al-Saud assists in conducting a French Postural Experement (FPE) on the middeck of the Space shuttle Discovery during the STS 51-G flight. Behind him on the middeck walls are two sleep restraints. At the bottom of the frame, foot restraints are visible.

This research project sought to answer the following questions about Conductive Education (CE). Does CE positively impact the lives of children with motor disorders and their family members? Does the program give children a sense of independence as well as the confidence to believe they have control over their movements, lives and future? If so, which characteristics of CE create

Deuterium-filled capsule implosion experiments that employ the dynamic hohlraum are presently being conducted on the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories. This paper will address the evidence for thermonuclear neutron production in the initial series and subsequent series of experiments that have been conducted to date employing Be, plastic, and glass capsules. The novelty of this approach motivated using several

This paper reports findings from a conversation analytic study of experimenter-participant interaction in parapsychology experiments. It shows how properties of communication through which the routine business of the experiment is conducted may have an impact on the research participant's subsequent performance. In this, the study explores social psychological features of the psychology laboratory. In particular, it examines aspects of Orne's (1962) account of what he called the demand characteristics of the psychological experiment. The data come from a corpus of audio recordings of experimenter-participant interaction during experiments on extra-sensory perception. These kinds of experiments, and the phenomena they purport to study, are undoubtedly controversial; however, the paper argues that there are grounds for social psychologists to consider parapsychology experiments as a class (albeit distinctive) of psychology experiments, and, therefore, as sites in which general social psychological and communicative phenomena can be studied. The empirical sections of the paper examine interaction during part of the experimental procedure when the experimenter verbally reviews a record of the participant's imagery reported during an earlier part of the experiment. The analysis shows that the way in which the experimenter acknowledges the research participants' utterances may be significant for the trajectory of the experiment and explores how the participants' subsequent performance in the experiment may be influenced by interactionally generated contingencies. PMID:17877849

Nuclear-based magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) energy conversion has been pursued in various forms since the 1950's. The majority of this work was motivated by the compatibility of MHD generators with the high temperature achievable with a nuclear reactor and the associated potential for very high cycle efficiency. As a result of this perspective, methods for enhancing the electrical conductivity of the MHD flow have primarily focused on traditional thermal ionization processes, especially those utilizing alkali metal seeds. However, electrical conductivity enhancement via thermal interactions imposes significant limitations on the flow expansion through the generator, and hence on the ultimate power density. Furthermore, the introduction of an alkali metal seed into the flow significantly complicates the engineering design and increases the potential for system failures due to plating of the evaporated metal on cold surfaces.

Astronaut Mike Fincke places droplets of honey onto the strings for the Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement (FMVM) investigation onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The FMVM experiment measures the time it takes for two individual highly viscous fluid droplets to coalesce or merge into one droplet. Different fluids and droplet size combinations were tested in the series of experiments. By using the microgravity environment, researchers can measure the viscosity or 'thickness' of fluids without the influence of containers and gravity using this new technique. Understanding viscosity could help scientists understand industrially important materials such as paints, emulsions, polymer melts and even foams used to produce pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic products.

This study explores stratified flow through a suspended, porous, fence-like obstacle to simulate flow through fish farm cages, mussel farm rope suspensions, flow through suspended aquatic vegetation, underwater energy production structures, or windbreak and wave break fencing. Laboratoryexperiments were performed in a density stratified, stationary flume with a suspended porous fence model using a particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) system. Experiments explored the effect on the fluid of the fence depth to total depth ratio, the system Richardson number, and the porosity of the fence. Preliminary results suggest that the density stratification of the fluid inhibits vertical fluid motion, that fence porosity greatly controls the vertical mixing of the fluid, and that there may be an optimal fence depth to total depth ratio for full development of the system flow structures.

Until now sandy soils can be considered as one roup having common hydrophysical problems. Therefore, a laboratoryexperiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of bagasse as an amendment to improve hydrophysical properties of sandy soil, through the determination of bulk density, aggregatesize distribution, total porosity, hydraulic conductivity, pore-space structure and water retention. To fulfil this objective, sandy soils were amended with bagasse at the rate of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4% on the dry weight basis. The study results demonstrated that the addition of bagasse to sandy soils in between 3 to 4% on the dry weight basis led to a significant decrease in bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, and rapid-drainable pores, and increase in the total porosity, water-holding pores, fine capillary pores, water retained at field capacity, wilting point, and soil available water as compared with the control treatment

A seismic time reversal experiment based on Time Reversal Mirror (TRM) technique was conducted in the mesoscopically scaled medium at the LSBB Laboratory, France. Two sets of 50 Hz geophones were distributed at one meter intervals in two horizontal and parallel galleries 100 m apart, buried 250 m below the surface. The shot source used was a 4 kg sledgehammer.

We describe a laboratory plasma physics experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory that uses two merging supersonic plasma jets formed and launched by pulsed-power-driven railguns. The jets can be formed using any atomic species or mixture available in a compressed-gas bottle and have the following nominal initial parameters at the railgun nozzle exit: ne ~ ni ~ 1016 cm-3, Te ~ Ti ~ 1.4 eV, V jet ~ 30-100 km/s, mean charge $\\bar{Z}$ ~ 1, sonic Mach number Ms ? V jet/Cs > 10, jet diameter = 5 cm, and jet length ~20 cm. Experiments to date have focused on the study of merging-jet dynamics and the shocks that form as a result of the interaction, in both collisional and collisionless regimes with respect to the inter-jet classical ion mean free path, and with and without an applied magnetic field. However, many other studies are also possible, as discussed in this paper.

We describe a laboratory plasma physics experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory that uses two merging supersonic plasma jets formed and launched by pulsed-power-driven railguns. The jets can be formed using any atomic species or mixture available in a compressed-gas bottle and have the following nominal initial parameters at the railgun nozzle exit: ne ? ni ~ 10¹? cm?³, Te ? Ti ? 1.4 eV, Vjet ? 30–100 km/s, mean charge $\\bar{Z}$ ? 1, sonic Mach number Ms ? Vjet/Cs > 10, jet diameter = 5 cm, and jet length ? 20 cm. Experiments to date have focused on themore »study of merging-jet dynamics and the shocks that form as a result of the interaction, in both collisional and collisionless regimes with respect to the inter-jet classical ion mean free path, and with and without an applied magnetic field. However, many other studies are also possible, as discussed in this paper.« less

The laboratory modelling of a rotating turbulent flow subjected to a ?-effect by means of laboratoryexperiments is considered. In particular the focus has been put on the emergence and the evolution of zonal jet-like structures due to the anisotropization of the upscale energy transfer that can be observed in geophysical flows. The experimental setup consists of a rotating tank in which a turbulent flow is reproduced by electromagnetically forcing a shallow layer of saline solution; this model then reproduces the dynamics in the polar regions simulating the so-called ?-plane by the parabolic surface of the rotating fluid. Several experiments have been performed by changing the main external parameters in order to investigate if the setup is suitable for reproducing the basic dynamics associated with a banded configuration analogous to large scale atmospheric and oceanic circulations. Velocity measurements performed by image analysis have allowed characterization of the flow in terms of mean azimuthal velocity, degree of anisotropy, distribution of energy, and characteristic scales. As expected, zonal jets have been found to dominate the dynamics when the ?-effect is stronger.

Enzyme kinetics experiments are popular in the undergraduate laboratory. These experiments have pedagogic value because they reinforce the concepts of Michaelis-Menten kinetics covered in the lecture portion of the course and give students the experience of calculating kinetic constants from data they themselves have generated. In this experiment, we investigate the kinetics of the thiol protease papain. The source of the papain is commercially available papaya latex. A specific substrate, Na-benzoyl-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BAPNA), is used, which takes advantage of the fact that papain interacts with a phenylalanine residue two amino acids away from the peptide bond cleaved. Upon hydrolysis by papain, a bright yellow product is released, p-nitroaniline. This allows the reaction to be monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of formation of the p-nitroaniline product as a function of the increase in absorbance of the solution at the lmax of p-nitroaniline (400 nm) over time at various substrate concentrations. These data are used to plot a Lineweaver-Burk plot from which the vmax and KM are obtained. If time permits, students carry out additional investigations in which e of p-nitroaniline is measured, the enzyme solution protein concentration is measured, the enzyme purity is evaluated by SDS-PAGE, and a pH-rate profile is constructed from experimental data.

The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) was conducted from 1995 through 1997 at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) to demonstrate increasingly longer duration operation of integrated, closed-loop life support systems that employed biological and physicochemical techniques for water recycling, waste processing, air revitalization, thermal control, and food production. An analog environment for long-duration human space travel, the conditions of isolation and confinement also enabled studies of human factors, medical sciences (both physiology and psychology) and crew training. Four tests were conducted, Phases I, II, IIa and III, with durations of 15, 30, 60 and 91 days, respectively. The first phase focused on biological air regeneration, using wheat to generate enough oxygen for one experimental subject. The systems demonstrated in the later phases were increasingly complex and interdependent, and provided life support for four crew members. The tests were conducted using two human-rated, atmospherically-closed test chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC) and the Integrated Life Support Systems Test Facility (ILSSTF). Systems included test articles (the life support hardware under evaluation), human accommodations (living quarters, kitchen, exercise equipment, etc.) and facility systems (emergency matrix system, power, cooling, etc.). The test team was managed by a lead engineer and a test director, and included test article engineers responsible for specific systems, subsystems or test articles, test conductors, facility engineers, chamber operators and engineering technicians, medical and safety officers, and science experimenters. A crew selection committee, comprised of psychologists, engineers and managers involved in the test, evaluated male and female volunteers who applied to be test subjects. Selection was based on the skills mix anticipated for each particular test, and utilized information from psychological and medical testing, data on the knowledge, experience and skills of the applicants, and team building exercises. The design, development, buildup and operation of test hardware and documentation followed the established NASA processes and requirements for test buildup and operation.

The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) was conducted from 1995 through 1997 at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) to demonstrate increasingly longer duration operation of integrated, closed-loop life support systems that employed biological and physicochemical techniques for water recycling, waste processing, air revitalization, thermal control, and food production. An analog environment for long-duration human space travel, the conditions of isolation and confinement also enabled studies of human factors, medical sciences (both physiology and psychology) and crew training. Four tests were conducted, Phases I, II, IIa and III, with durations of 15, 30,60 and 91 days, respectively. The first phase focused on biological air regeneration, using wheat to generate enough oxygen for one experimental subject. The systems demonstrated in the later phases were increasingly complex and interdependent, and provided life support for four crew members. The tests were conducted using two human-rated, atmospherically-closed test chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC) and the Integrated Life Support Systems Test Facility (ILSSTF). Systems included test articles (the life support hardware under evaluation), human accommodations (living quarters, kitchen, exercise equipment, etc.) and facility systems (emergency matrix system, power, cooling, etc.). The test team was managed by a lead engineer and a test director, and included test article engineers responsible for specific systems, subsystems or test articles, test conductors, facility engineers, chamber operators and engineering technicians, medical and safety officers, and science experimenters. A crew selection committee, comprised of psychologists, engineers and managers involved in the test, evaluated male and female volunteers who applied to be test subjects. Selection was based on the skills mix anticipated for each particular test, and utilized information from psychological and medical testing, data on the knowledge, experience and skills of the applicants, and team building exercises. The design, development, buildup and operation of test hardware and documentation followed the established NASA processes and requirements for test buildup and operation.

Aerosol influences on mixed-phase and cold clouds have received increasing attention in recent years. Possible effects of anthropogenic aerosols include enhanced glaciation of mixed-phase clouds, deactivation of natural ice nuclei, or they could be negligible compared to the natural background. The numerical simulation and quantification of these effects requires aerosol-specific ice nucleation parameterizations, which can be based either on field measurements or on laboratoryexperiments. The advantage of laboratory studies is that the aerosol samples can be well characterized with respect to their composition and size distribution. A simple empirical parameterization of ice nucleation ability is the so-called active site density. Experiments in the AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) chamber have been used as a basis for fitted active site densities for various particles, such as desert dusts, volcanic ash, agricultural soils and pollen grains. The parameterizations will be compared to results from other experiments, and the differences and limitations will be discussed. The derived values of the active site density are sensitive to assumptions on the particle shape. In addition, the temperature range which can be covered is limited by the detection threshold of the employed instrument. For deposition nucleation, it is more difficult to obtain temperature- and supersaturation-dependent fits of the active site density. Furthermore, other recently developed ice nucleation parameterizations (Phillips et al, 2008; DeMott et al, 2010; Hoose et al, 2010), which are based on continuous flow diffusion chamber measurements and classical nucleation theory, respectively, are presented as "equivalent active site densities" to make them directly comparable to the AIDA measurements and active site density fits. These approaches differ both with respect to their absolute values, temperature- and time-dependence. The resultant differences in predicted atmospheric ice nuclei concentrations will be shown for a simulation with the COSMO-ART model.

Based on results of the new Water Source Heat Pump (WSHP) systems operating in the US, these highly efficient heat pumps provide energy saving that will make them economically feasible to replace the inefficient, conventional HVAC systems. Additionally, an option to replace a centrifugal-compressor CFC chiller with a non-CFC chiller can be to replace the system with a highly efficient Water-Loop Heat Pump (WSHP) system. This replacement can result in a reduction of 20 to 30% in heating and air-conditioning energy costs. Low Conductivity Water (LCW) is purified water used for cooling in experimental laboratory, process, and air-conditioning equipment. It is one of several lab-wide mechanical utilities systems provided at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LNL). The system is designed to maintain a supply temperature between 65 F and 85 F, with 100 psi at the inlet of the user building, 50--55 psi minimum differential pressures in the building, 35 psi maximum return pressure, and 0.4 umho/cm conductivity. However, this study is to utilize the existing LCW water loop to achieve the energy-efficiency improvement in a water resource heat pump (WRHP) system. The study will also utilize the life cycle costs as a tool to as the general selected criteria.

Recently, a requirement for directed responsible conduct in research (RCR) education has become a priority in the United States and elsewhere. In the US, both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation require RCR education for all students who are financially supported by federal awards. The guidelines produced by these agencies offer useful templates for the introduction of RCR materials into courses worldwide. Many academic programs already offer courses or workshops in RCR for their graduate students and for undergraduate science majors and/or researchers. Introducing RCR into undergraduate biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory curricula is another, highly practical way that students can be exposed to these important topics. In fact, a strong argument can be made for integrating RCR into laboratory courses because these classes often introduce students to a scientific environment like that they might encounter in their careers after graduation. This article focuses on general strategies for incorporating explicit RCR education into biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory coursework using the topics suggested by NIH as a starting point. PMID:25727192

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and superiority of a new coagulating and hemostatic method named “saline conducted electric coagulation (SCEC)”. Methods: The Peng's multifunction operative dissector (PMOD) was modified to enable saline to effuse persistently out of its nib at a constant speed. In a group of six New Zealand rabbits, two hepatic lobes of each rabbits were resected respectively by SCEC and conventional electric coagulation (EC). The features of SCEC were recorded by photo and compared with conventional EC. After 7 d, the coagulating depth was measured in each residual hepatic lobe. Hepatic tissue was dyed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and studied under a microscope. Results: The coagulating depth increased with the continuation of SCEC time. Hepatectomies were performed successfully, no rabbit died in the perioperative period. The incisal surface of SCEC was gray-white with no red bleeding point. There was a thick solidified layer at the margin and a thin red-white intermittent layer between the solidified layer and normal hepatic tissue at the vertical section of SCEC. The mean coagulating depth of SCEC was 1.8 cm vs. 0.3 cm of conventional EC. Pathological examination showed a mild inflammatory reaction by SCEC. Conclusions: SCEC is a feasible and safe method for surgical hemostasis. As a new technique for liver resection, SCEC shows better coagulating effect and milder inflammatory reaction than conventional EC. Our study shows bloodless liver resection can also be performed by SCEC, especially for liver malignant tumor. PMID:22374610

The existing predominantly male interpretation of religious texts tends to discriminate against or ignore women's needs and well-being. It is necessary to deeply analyze these religious texts by female scholars and gender-sensitive male scholars. In view of this, the Indonesian Society for Pesantren and Community Development (P3M) conducted gender-awareness workshops which encourage discussion of Qur'anic verses and Ahadith (sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad) that pertain to women. A nongovernmental organization in India, P3M gathered conventional and alternative interpretations of Islamic texts and views on reproductive and sexual health from local and overseas sources. Overall, the workshops resulted in a book on women's rights to reproductive health, marriage and fertility in the context of Islam. Such works by P3M contribute to a more balanced discussion of reproductive health and rights and provide Indonesian women with the opportunity to improve their life at home and in society in line with their faith. PMID:12296267

The authors test whether data from laboratory bioassays can be used to predict zooplankton responses during a whole-lake experiment using two rotifers, Keratella cochlearis and Keratella taurocephala. The acidification experiment was conducted in Little Rock Lake, Wisconsin, USA, which was divided into a reference basin maintained at a natural pH near 6.1 and a treatment basin which was acidified in 2-yr stages to pH values of 5.6, 5.2, and 4.7. Laboratory assays examined the effect of pH on reproduction under varied food conditions and survivorship without food. In the lake, the two rotifers showed strong and opposite responses to acidification: K. cochlearis decreased in abundance while K. taurocephala increased. In the laboratory bioassays, neither species was sensitive to pH when food conditions yielded high reproductive rates. When food was limited, K. cochlearis exhibited lower survivorship and a trend towards lower reproductive rates at lower pH. With limited food, K. taurocephala survivorship was either unaffected by pH or higher at high pH and its reproduction was slightly higher at intermediate pH. In situ experiments revealed that food conditions in the treatment basin lowered reproduction by K. cochlearis, indicating that a combined effect of food and pH caused its population decline. Neither food nor pH could explain the increase in K. taurocephala, which appeared to be linked to a reduction in its predators at lower pH. Overall, the analyses revealed substantial discrepancies between laboratory bioassays and in-lake responses. This was particularly the case for K. taurocephala, for which assays predicted no changes or a decline in abundance rather than the marked increase that actually occurred. The results suggest that caution should be used in extending results from laboratory assays to natural ecosystems.

Supersonic flows through heterogeneous environments are common in astrophysics as evidenced by high resolution Hubble Space Telescope images of a variety of astrophysical objects, including supernova remnants and stellar jets. In many instances, the imaged flows exhibit a complex morphology consisting of multiple clumps, bow shocks, and filamentary structure extending over a range of spatial scales. To gain a better understanding of the dynamics occurring in such multi-clump flows, scaled laboratoryexperiments are being carried out at the Omega Laser Facility. In these experiments, a laser pulse is used to heat a halfraum to indirectly drive a near planar shock through a target that typically consists of many small dense spheres embedded in lower density foam. The evolution of the target is then imaged using x-ray radiography. Targets have been designed to span the parameter space of clump number and clump size distribution, as well as investigate the quantitative differences in shock propagation through a clumpy target with that of a uniform target of the same average density. An overview of the experiments and comparison with simulations will be presented.

For several years tracer migration experiments are performed at Nagra's Grimsel Test Site in the Swiss Alps as a joint undertaking of Nagra, PNC and PSI. The aim is to develop methods for field experiments at possible sites for nuclear waste repositories and to test radionuclide transport models. A hydraulic dipole field is generated in a well-defined fracture zone in granite. The tracers used are non-sorbing (uranine, 3He, 4He, 82Br -, 123I -), mildly sorbing ( 22Na +, 24Na +), and more strongly sorbing ( 85Sr 2+, 86Rb +, 134Cs +, 137Cs +). These experiments have been complemented by extensive laboratory investigations on petrography, on water-rock and nuclide-rock interaction as well as by migration experiments with bore cores. The main questions addressed are: What are the relevant geometric factors and mechanisms for transport, how well can breakthrough curves be extrapolated from one dipole arrangement to another, which parameters are scale dependent, is there a difference in sorption values between laboratory and field experiments or between static and dynamic experiments. Evaluating the experimental results for the non-sorbing uranine and the mildly sorbing tracers sorption, Strontium, we show that a consistent picture of tracer transport, and specifically of tracer sorption, is obtained when exploiting all available experimental information and using not too simplistic models.

Radii of eddies created in the laboratory by removal of fluid at a surface sink are often substantially smaller than the radius of deformation suggesting that friction plays a more substantial role in setting laboratory eddy scales than it does in the ocean. In order to better understand the processes involved, the radii of anticyclonic eddies were examined in a one meter tank at the University of Rhode Island Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. The removal of fluid at the surface was accomplished via a small tube placed at the center of the rotating tank and the horizontal velocity field was measured with a PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system. The parameter range explored covered rotation rates from 0.25 to 2.0 s-1; withdrawal rates of 53 to 435 ml/min, and fluid depths from 8 to 32cm. The deformation radii associated with these parameters range from ~22 to ~360cm. The eddy radius was defined at the point at which the azimuthal velocity about the eddy center reaches its maximum. This also corresponds to the point at which the bottom Ekman layer switches from convergence to divergence. The results show that eddy radii depend on the square root of the withdrawal rate and are only weakly dependent on the rotation rate. (Experiments involving the effect of fluid depth on eddy radius, if any, were not analyzed at the time of the writing of this abstract but will be included in the poster presentation.) Theoretical arguments are presented to explain the observed behavior.

Riparian vegetation developing on the bare alluvial sediment may strongly contribute to the local stabilization of river bedforms and, in turn to the resulting river morphodynamics. Both seedlings from germinated seeds or woody debris deposits that start taking roots in the gravel sediment eventually develop into vegetation patches depending on the frequency and magnitude of floods. Ultimately, the interaction between river hydrology and vegetation growth time scales depends on the anchoring mechanism of certain root type and age within the non-cohesive alluvial soil. Recently, we started to explore the mechanisms of flow erosion in the presence of vegetation roots at the laboratory scale, in order to help explaining some observations that have been made at the laboratory scale (Perucca et al., this Session) and in the field, that is a restored river reach (Pasquale et al., this Session). In this paper, we propose a conceptual mechanism showing that root erosion by floods depends on root architecture (age and structure), and that uprooting is essentially of two types. The first type is relevant to young vegetation and is mainly due to a balance between flow drag force and resistance to uprooting. The second type concerns more mature vegetation and implies that considerable localized erosion additionally takes place in order to produce uprooting. Such two processes occur at completely different time scales, being quite instantaneous the first, and rather delayed the second. Although made at laboratory scale, the results of our preliminary experiments seem to support the idea ursued by the conceptual model. Future test will aim at better unravel the details of the root erosion dynamics and at formulating a modelling theory therof, the implications of which range from ecohydrology to river restoration practice.

...laboratories to conduct official CWD tests. (a) An official CWD test is: (1) Histopathological examination of central nervous system (CNS) tissues from the animal for characteristic microscopic lesions of CWD, using test protocols...

...laboratories to conduct official CWD tests. (a) An official CWD test is: (1) Histopathological examination of central nervous system (CNS) tissues from the animal for characteristic microscopic lesions of CWD, using test protocols...

Seeded high-gain FELs, which can generate very powerful radiation pulses in a relatively compact undulator and simultaneously modulate the electron beam longitudinally at the seed wavelength, are important tools for advanced accelerator development. A single-pass 0.5-9 THz FEL amplifier-buncher driven by a regular photoinjector is being built at the UCLA Neptune Laboratory. FEL interactions at 340 {mu}m (1 THz) are considered for the first experiment, since time-resolved measurements of longitudinal current distribution of the bunched beam using the RF deflecting cavity are possible. A design of a 0.2-2.0 {mu}m FEL using the same undulators is presented. In this case the FEL is driven by a high-peak current beam from the laser-plasma accelerator tunable in the 100-300 MeV range.

The physics of magnetic shielding in Hall thrusters were validated through laboratoryexperiments demonstrating essentially erosionless, high-performance operation. The magnetic field near the walls of a laboratory Hall thruster was modified to effectively eliminate wall erosion while maintaining the magnetic field topology away from the walls necessary to retain efficient operation. Plasma measurements at the walls validate our understanding of magnetic shielding as derived from the theory. The plasma potential was maintained very near the anode potential, the electron temperature was reduced by a factor of two to three, and the ion current density was reduced by at least a factor of two. Measurements of the carbon backsputter rate, wall geometry, and direct measurement of plasma properties at the wall indicate that the wall erosion rate was reduced by a factor of 1000 relative to the unshielded thruster. These changes effectively eliminate wall erosion as a life limitation in Hall thrusters, enabling a new class of deep-space missions that could not previously be attempted.

The physics of magnetic shielding in Hall thrusters were validated through laboratoryexperiments demonstrating essentially erosionless, high-performance operation. The magnetic field near the walls of a laboratory Hall thruster was modified to effectively eliminate wall erosion while maintaining the magnetic field topology away from the walls necessary to retain efficient operation. Plasma measurements at the walls validate our understanding of magnetic shielding as derived from the theory. The plasma potential was maintained very near the anode potential, the electron temperature was reduced by a factor of two to three, and the ion current density was reduced by at least a factor of two. Measurements of the carbon backsputter rate, wall geometry, and direct measurement of plasma properties at the wall indicate that the wall erosion rate was reduced by a factor of 1000 relative to the unshielded thruster. These changes effectively eliminate wall erosion as a life limitation in Hall thrusters, enabling a new class of deep-space missions that could not previously be attempted.

The spatial assessment of short time-step precipitation is a challenging task. Low density of observation networks, as well as the bias in radar rainfall estimation motivated the new idea of exploiting cars as moving rain gauges with windshield wipers or optical sensors as measurement devices. In a preliminary study, this idea has been tested with computer experiments (Haberlandt and Sester, 2010). The results have shown that a high number of possibly inaccurate measurement devices (moving cars) provide more reliable areal rainfall estimations than a lower number of precise measurement devices (stationary gauges). Instead of assuming a relationship between wiper frequency (W) and rainfall intensity (R) with an arbitrary error, the main objective of this study is to derive valid W-R relationships between sensor readings and rainfall intensity by laboratoryexperiments. Sensor readings involve the wiper speed, as well as optical sensors which can be placed on cars and are usually made for automating wiper activities. A rain simulator with the capability of producing a wide range of rainfall intensities is designed and constructed. The wiper speed and two optical sensors are used in the laboratory to measure rainfall intensities, and compare it with tipping bucket readings as reference. Furthermore, the effect of the car speed on the estimation of rainfall using a car speed simulator device is investigated. The results show that the sensor readings, which are observed from manual wiper speed adjustment according to the front visibility, can be considered as a strong indicator for rainfall intensity, while the automatic wiper adjustment show weaker performance. Also the sensor readings from optical sensors showed promising results toward measuring rainfall rate. It is observed that the car speed has a significant effect on the rainfall measurement. This effect is highly dependent on the rain type as well as the windshield angle.

The spatial assessment of short time step precipitation is a challenging task. Low density of observation networks, as well as the bias in radar rainfall estimation motivated the new idea of exploiting cars as moving rain gauges with windshield wipers or optical sensors as measurement devices. In a preliminary study, this idea has been tested with computer experiments (Haberlandt and Sester, 2010). The results have shown that a high number of possibly inaccurate measurement devices (moving cars) provide more reliable areal rainfall estimations than a lower number of precise measurement devices (stationary gauges). Instead of assuming a relationship between wiper frequency (W) and rainfall intensity (R) with an arbitrary error, the main objective of this study is to derive valid W-R relationships between sensor readings and rainfall intensity by laboratoryexperiments. Sensor readings involve the wiper speed, as well as optical sensors which can be placed on cars and are usually made for automating wiper activities. A rain simulator with the capability of producing a wide range of rainfall intensities is designed and constructed. The wiper speed and two optical sensors are used in the laboratory to measure rainfall intensities, and compare it with tipping bucket readings as reference. Furthermore, the effect of the car speed on the estimation of rainfall using a car speed simulator device is investigated. The results show that the sensor readings, which are observed from wiper speed adjustment according to the front visibility, can be considered as a strong indicator for rainfall intensity. Also the optical sensors showed promising results toward measuring rainfall rate. It is observed that the car speed has a significant effect on the rainfall measurement. This effect is highly dependent on the rain type as well as the windshield angle.

Three-dimensional Monte Carlo neutral transport simulations of gas flow through the Alcator C-Mod subdivertor yield conductances comparable to those found in dedicated experiments. All are significantly smaller than the conductance found with the previously used axisymmetric geometry. A benchmarking exercise of the code against known conductance values for gas flow through a simple pipe provides a physical basis for interpreting the comparison of the three-dimensional and experimental C-Mod conductances.

The influence of tunnel climate on deformation cycles of joint openings and closings is often observed immediately after excavation. At the EZ-B niche in the Mt. Terri rock laboratory (Switzerland), a cyclic deformation of the shaly Opalinus clay has been monitored for several years. The deformation cycles of the joints parallel to the clay bedding planes correlate with seasonal variations in relative humidity of the air in the niche. In winter, when the relative humidity is the lowest (down to 65%), the joints open as the clay volume decreases, whereas they tend to close in the summer when the relative humidity reaches up to 100%. Furthermore, in situ measurements have shown the trend of an increasingly smaller aperture of joints with time. A laboratoryexperiment was carried out to reproduce the observed cyclic deformation in a climate chamber using a core sample of Opalinus clay. The main goal of the experiment was to investigate the influence of the relative humidity on the deformation of the Opalinus clay while excluding the in situ effects (e.g. confining stress). The core sample of Opalinus clay was put into a closed ended PVC tube and the space between the sample and the tube was filled with resin. Then, the sample (size: 28 cm × 14 cm × 6.5 cm) was cut in half lengthways and the open end was cut, so that the half-core sample could move in one direction. The mounted sample was exposed to wetting and drying cycles in a climate chamber. Air temperature, air humidity and sample weight were continuously recorded. Photographs taken at regular time intervals by a webcam allowed the formation/deformation of cracks on the surface of the sample to be monitored. A crackmeter consisting of a double-plate capacitor attached to the core sample was developed to measure the dynamics of the crack opening and closing. Preliminary results show that: - Deformation movements during different climate cycles can be visualized with the webcam - The crackmeter signal gives a relatively precise response for relative humidity below 80% - The sample weight variations are clearly related to the climatic conditions (temperature and relative humidity) and associated with deformation of the sample (widening and narrowing of the cracks) - The control of the relative humidity in the climate chamber turned out to be difficult in a laboratory without climate conditioning, especially during summer time

Coastal boulders transported inland by high-energy events, such as tsunamis or storms, have been found along several coastal areas worldwide. The importance of these deposits relies on their implications on coastal hazard assessment, since they contribute to the identification of past events and to the study of their magnitude and characteristics. However, the identification of the event responsible of the dislocation of the boulder (tsunami or storm) is not trivial given the complexities of the tsunami and storm phenomena, the coastal environment, the initial boulder conditions, the uncertainties of the problem, etc. The hydrodynamics methods usually adopted are 1) the use of simple hydrodynamics formulae to estimate the minimum flow velocity and height required to move a boulder, and 2) numerical simulations that model the boulder transport together with the specific tsunami (or storm) event. The main shortcomings of the first method are the simplifications adopted, while the second approach implies the simulation of the transport event, which might not be practical because of the amount of uncertainties involved. To contribute to this study field, a laboratoryexperiment on the flow conditions for boulder transport was carried out at the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory (LIDR) of the University of Bologna, Italy, in a 11 m long and 0.5 m wide flume. The main objective of this experiment is to provide experimental data for the conditions of the incipient motion for boulders, i.e. to relate the threshold flow velocity and depth for transport with the characteristics of the boulders, i.e. weight and geometry. The experimental channel is divided in three parts: on one end of the channel, a water tank is closed by a gate, followed by a central flat bed and a 1:10 slope, where the boulder is located. A bore, generated by quickly opening the gate (simulating a dam-break), flows in the channel, climbs up the slope and hits the boulder. The impact of the flow on the boulder is recorded with a high frequency camera, while the flow velocity is measured with a Doppler ultrasound velocimeter (DOP) and the flow depth with a resistive level sensor. A series of laboratory tests has been carried out with boulders of different weight and dimension, and varying the water level in the tank in order to test different flow conditions (velocities and heights). The preliminary outcomes of these tests are commented, especially in light of their contribution to the discussion on the validity and limits of the hydrodynamics formulations of boulder incipient motion.

Virtual laboratoryexperiments using interactive computer simulations are not being employed as viable alternatives to laboratory science curriculum at extensive enough rates within higher education. Rote traditional lab experiments are currently the norm and are not addressing inquiry, Critical Thinking, and cognition throughout the laboratory…

Proposes use of two experiments to sample and analyze contaminents in the laboratory. Experiments focus on estimating hydrogen sulfide levels in the general chemistry laboratory during qualitative analysis and determining the concentration of organic vapors associated with organic chemistry laboratories. (JN)

Students (n=143) at the Indiana University School of Medicine were surveyed--before and after pharmacology laboratoryexperiences using dogs--for their assessments of educational and moral aspects of animal laboratories. Most students indicated that the laboratoryexperiences did not involve immoral use of animals and were preferable to…

Laboratoryexperiments on Alfven's critical ionization velocity (CIV) effect have established the reality of the CIV effect and determined the parameter limits within which the effect can be expected in the laboratory for different combinations of plasma and neutral gas species: velocity, magnetic field strength, and neutral gas and plasma density. However, in the laboratoryexperiments there are always walls

The thermal evolution of terrestrial planets is mainly controlled by the amount of radioactive heat sources in their mantle, and by the geometry and efficiency of solid state thermo-chemical convection within. So far, these systems have been studied using numerical methods only and cross validation by laboratory analogous experiments has not been conducted yet. To fill this gap we perform the first laboratoryexperiments of mantle convection driven by microwave-generated internal heating. We use a 30×30×5 cm3 experimental tank filled with 0.5 % Natrosol in water mixture (viscosity 0.6 Pa.s at 20°C). The fluid is heated from within by a microwave device that delivers a uniform volumetric heating from 10 to 70 kW/m3; the upper boundary of the fluid is kept at constant temperature, whereas the lower boundary is adiabatic. The velocity field is determined with particle image velocimetry and the temperature field is measured using thermochromic liquid crystals which enable us to charaterize the geometry of the convective regime as well as its bulk thermal evolution. Numerical simulations, conducted using Stag-3D in 3D cartesian geometry, reproduce the experimental setup (i.e., boundary conditions, box aspect ratio, temperature dependence of physical parameters, internal heating rate). The successful comparison between the experimental and numerical results validates our approach of modelling internal heating using microwaves.

The thermal evolution of terrestrial planets is mainly controlled by the amount of radioactive heat sources in their mantle, and by the geometry and efficiency of solid state thermo-chemical convection within. So far, these systems have been studied using numerical methods only and cross validation by laboratory analogous experiments has not been conducted yet. To fill this gap we perform the first laboratoryexperiments of mantle convection driven by microwave-generated internal heating. We use a 30×30×5 cm{sup 3} experimental tank filled with 0.5 % Natrosol in water mixture (viscosity 0.6 Pa.s at 20°C). The fluid is heated from within by a microwave device that delivers a uniform volumetric heating from 10 to 70 kW/m{sup 3}; the upper boundary of the fluid is kept at constant temperature, whereas the lower boundary is adiabatic. The velocity field is determined with particle image velocimetry and the temperature field is measured using thermochromic liquid crystals which enable us to charaterize the geometry of the convective regime as well as its bulk thermal evolution. Numerical simulations, conducted using Stag-3D in 3D cartesian geometry, reproduce the experimental setup (i.e., boundary conditions, box aspect ratio, temperature dependence of physical parameters, internal heating rate). The successful comparison between the experimental and numerical results validates our approach of modelling internal heating using microwaves.

Virtual Laboratories > 2. Probability Spaces > 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Random ExperimentsExperiments Probability theory is based on the paradigm of a random experiment; that is, an experiment whose outcome cannot be predicted with certainty, before the experiment is run. We usually assume that the experiment

Explosive volcanic eruptions pose great hazards in both the near- and far-field. Understanding the factors controlling the dynamics of pyroclast ejection is essential for better assessment of related hazards. The dynamics of volcanic explosions, which can be observed and characterized in the field only in a very incomplete manner due to their inaccessibility and hazards, can be simulated in the laboratory where experiments can be performed in their immediate proximity under controlled conditions. Using a shock-tube we ejected loose particles while controlling parameters such as temperature, applied overpressure, starting grain size distribution, conduit length and exit vent geometry. We recorded each explosion with a high-speed camera and collected the sample after deposition, thereby quantifying the velocity of individual particles, the jet spreading angle and the production of fines. The experiments were performed at 500°C and 15MPa using materials of two different densities ("Schaumlava" and "Laacher See Bims") and three grain size ranges (1-2 mm, 0.5-1 mm and 0.125-0.250 mm). Additionally, we varied the setup to allow for different sample-to-gas ratios and varying fragmentation depth at start of each experiment. We also deployed four different exit vents: a cylindrical continuation of the shock-tube, a funnel with a flaring of 30°, a funnel with a flaring of 15° and a nozzle. All vents are characterized by the same height and bottom diameter. The results of the current investigation together with comparison with other experimental campaigns showed particle velocities ranging from 130 to 290 m/s, gas spreading angles varying from 14 to 37° and particles spreading angles from 12° to 2°. Moreover we observed dynamically evolving ejection characteristics (speed and spreading angle) and strong variations in the production of fines (up to a factor of 2) during the course of individual experiments. We further qualitatively present the impact of experimental conditions on the initial shock wave, the presence or absence of lightning and the distribution of particles in the ejected gas-particle flow. Our experiments mechanistically mimic the process of pyroclast ejection and plume formation. The capability to constrain the effects of input parameters (fragmentation conditions) and conduit/vent geometry on ballistic pyroclastic plumes has been clearly established. These data obtained in the presence of well-documented conduit and vent conditions, should greatly enhance our ability to numerically model explosive ejecta in nature.

In the fall of 2012, 20 General Chemistry Honors students at the University of New Haven were issued the new iPad 3 to incorporate these devices both in the classroom and the laboratory. This paper will focus on the integration of the iPad into the laboratory curriculum while creating a paperless experience, an environment where no paper would…

We present a summary of recent experiments on focusing of laser target-normal-sheath-accelerated (TNSA) proton beam with a stack of thin conducting foils. The experiments were performed using the Phelix laser (GSI-Darmstadt) and the Titan laser, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The phenomena consistent with self-collimation (or weak self-focusing) of TNSA protons were experimentally observed for the first time at the Phelix laser user facility, in a specially engineered structure ("lens") consisting of a stack of 300 thin aluminum foils separated by 50 ?m vacuum gaps. Follow up experiments using the Titan laser obtained results consistent with the collimation/focusing observed in the initial experiments using the Phelix. The Titan experiments employed improved, 25 ?m- and 50 ?m-gap targets and the new fine mesh diagnostic. All the experiments were carried out in a "passive environment," i.e., no external fields were applied, and no neutralization plasma or injection of secondary charged particles was imposed. A plausible interpretation of the observed phenomena is that the combination of magnetic self-pinch forces generated by the beam current together with the simultaneous reduction of the repulsive electrostatic forces due to the conducting foils inhibits radial expansion of the beam.

We present a summary of recent experiments on focusing of laser target-normal-sheath-accelerated (TNSA) proton beam with a stack of thin conducting foils. The experiments were performed using the Phelix laser (GSI-Darmstadt) and the Titan laser, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The phenomena consistent with self-collimation (or weak self-focusing) of TNSA protons were experimentally observed for the first time at the Phelix laser user facility, in a specially engineered structure ('lens') consisting of a stack of 300 thin aluminum foils separated by 50??m vacuum gaps. Follow up experiments using the Titan laser obtained results consistent with the collimation/focusing observed in the initial experiments using the Phelix. The Titan experiments employed improved, 25??m- and 50??m-gap targets and the new fine mesh diagnostic. All the experiments were carried out in a “passive environment,” i.e., no external fields were applied, and no neutralization plasma or injection of secondary charged particles was imposed. A plausible interpretation of the observed phenomena is that the combination of magnetic self-pinch forces generated by the beam current together with the simultaneous reduction of the repulsive electrostatic forces due to the conducting foils inhibits radial expansion of the beam.

Experimental granular column collapse were conducted over an inclined channel covered by an erodible bed of granular material in order to reproduce at laboratory scale erosion processes of natural flows propagating over deposits formed by earlier events. The studied control parameters were the slope angle, the aspect ratio (i.e. height over length), the volume and the shape of the granular column released, and the thickness and compaction of the erodible bed. The results show that erosion processes affect the flow runout distance over a critical slope angle ?c that depends on the column volume, aspect ratio, and shape. For slope higher than ?c, the granular avalanche excavates the erodible layer immediately at the flow front, behind which waves traveling downstream are observed and help entraining grains from the erodible bed. Erosion efficiency (i.e. maximal depth and duration of excavation, waves dimensions) is shown to increase as the slope angle and the column's volume increase. It is also dependent on the aspect ratio and on the nature of the erodible bed: the maximal excavation depth and the duration of the excavation decrease as the degree of compaction of the erodible granular bed increases. Erosion processes notably increase granular flows runout distance at inclinations close to the repose angle of the grains, in particular for columns of small aspect ratio. We demonstrate, however, that the flow runout distance observed on an erodible bed cannot be reproduced on a rough bed by simply adding the entrained volume of erodible bed to the initial column volume.

Graphitisation of less ordered hexagonal carbon was studied under in-situ pressure and temperature conditions on anthracite, black shale and a synthetic calcite/anthracite mixture at upper greenschist facies conditions. Anthracite exhibited a continuous loss of volatiles in the temperature range 100° C up to 850° C (9.9 weight at 450° C) as detected by simultanous Differential-Thermo-Analysis (DTA) and Thermo-Gravimetry (TG). Thus the relative carbon content of the sample was increased by heating up the samples. Energy dispersive X-Ray diffraction (EDX) confirmed this observation by a continuous decrease of the FWHM of the 002 graphite reflection from a broad amorphous peak to nearly perfect crystallised graphitc carbon. The bulk conductivity was increased as a function of time by about three orders in magnitude at constant pressure and temperature conditions (0.7 GPa, 450° C). The frequency dependence of the complex electrical conductivity (AC-IMP) was measured in the frequency range 0.6 up to 100 kHz and was modelled by an Least Squares Refinement exhibiting a continuous decrease of the imaginary part of the impedance. Thus "quasi-metallic" conduction dominates the charge transport in the samples. The application of pressure, shear stress, temperature and time caused an increase in ordering and degree of interconnection of the formerly random oriented hexagonal carbon rings. From these experiments it can be derived that graphitization takes place in nature only with shear at temperatures of the order of 300-500°C and pressures of several 100 MPa. This result corresponds with the occurence of graphite in overthrusts and nappe structures.

An experiment is discussed for determining the gravitational constant with the aid of an isolated system consisting of an artificial satellite moving around an artificial planet. The experiment is to be conducted in a spherical laboratory traveling in an orbit around the earth. Difficulties due to the gravity-gradient term are considered, and the three-tunnel method proposed by Wilk (1969) is examined. The rotation of the sphere is discussed together with aspects of the reference systems used, the equations of motion of the spacecraft and of the test objects, the field from the earth's gravity gradient at the test object, higher harmonic terms in the gravity gradient force, gravitational effects of the spacecraft itself, and a computer simulation.

This quasi-experimental study compared the effects of a sequence of on-campus laboratoryexperiences with an intensive early field experience in the preparation of preservice secondary teachers. Specifically, the study examined the effects of the experiences on teachers' ability to: (a) reflect on and explain complex pedagogical episodes, and (b) plan and implement organized, meaningful lessons. Laboratory teachers engaged in a

A digital pediatric echocardiography laboratory, without videotape redundancy was established at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in December 1998. To characterize the experience, 1198 consecutive patient studies were reviewed-50% from the first 2 months after establishing the digital protocol and 50% from the last 2 months available. Each study was stored using a protocol that was based on capture of single beat clips of relevant two-dimensional/color Doppler imaging and static frame spectral Doppler tracings. Studies were digitally compressed using a DICOM-compatible JPEG algorithm at 20:1 and edited with deletions of redundant clips to minimize archival storage needs. Study quality was uniformly excellent, and no errors were attributable to the digital protocol or compression-related loss of information. The average study required 21.5 +/- 11.4 MB of storage space with 35.4 +/- 12.3 total clips/study captured. Studies reviewed from the earlier experience were not significantly larger (23.6 +/- 14 vs 19.7 +/- 8.1 MB, 35.6 +/- 12.5 vs 35.2 +/- 12 clips) than those done recently. Studies in patients with isolated ventricular septal defect used comparable storage (23.7 +/- 8.9 MB, 42.8 +/- 11.5 clips) to that of the group as a whole. More complex congenital heart disease studies were slightly larger-tetralogy of Fallot (28.2 +/- 19.5 MB, 43.4 +/- 13.9 clips), transposition of the great arteries (30.6 +/- 17.4 MB, 40.3 +/- 16.7 clips), and single ventricle (29.7 +/- 19.6 MB, 39.9 +/- 12 clips)--although this trend was not significant. This study suggests that digital pediatric echo is feasible using a DICOM-compatible protocol with maintenance of diagnostic integrity despite compression of study size to allow rapid archival storage and retrieval. PMID:11922509

Eelgrass, Zostera marina L., forms large quantities of detritus in Lake Grevelingen. Laboratoryexperiments with green eelgrass and eelgrass detritus have been performed under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to study leaching and chemical changes of plant matter and surrounding medium. DW losses were less than 30%, demonstrating that field litterbag experiments overestimated the decomposition rate highly. This leads to the conclusion that eelgrass detritus should accumulate in Lake Grevelingen. POC and AFDW decreased during decomposition. PON and POP fluctuated and only C/P ratio in anaerobically incubated detritus showed a clear pattern. C/N ratio behaved rather stable and cannot be used as a valuable index for decomposition processes. Initial contents of Na, K, Ca and Mg in eelgrass differed from literature values. During decomposition Na, K and Ca increased, while Mg remained constant. Leaching of DOC, PO 4, NH 4 and NO 3 was rapid in the first hours of incubation, but leaching products did not change pH. Initial DOC and PO 4 concentrations were much higher in media with green eelgrass than in detritus series; no differences between aerobic and anaerobic series were found. In all series NO 3 concentrations were low. HN 4 and total dissolved N increased in anaerobic incubations. pH remained constant in detritus series, but changed significantly in the green grass series, concomittantly with drastic DOC decreases and DW increases, after 9 to 10 days, especially under aerobic conditions. This indicated high activity and growth of particle associated bacteria or formation of aggregates. A conversion factor of 66% for DOC to POC has been calculated. About 10% of DOC remained in the incubation vessels and will be refractory. In budgets for C, N and P the dissolved fractions were always small (1 to 20%) compared with the particulate fractions. The lost fractions were due to non-recovered, very small particulate matter. High losses for P have possibly been caused by not analysed dissolved organic P.

The transit technique is used for the detection and characterization of exoplanets. The combination of transit and radial velocity (RV) measurements gives information about a planet's radius and mass, respectively, leading to an estimate of the planet's density (Borucki et al. 2011) and therefore to its composition and evolutionary history. Transit spectroscopy can provide information on atmospheric composition and structure (Fortney et al. 2013). Spectroscopic observations of individual planets have revealed atomic and molecular species such as H2O, CO2 and CH4 in atmospheres of planets orbiting bright stars, e.g. Deming et al. (2013). The transit observations require extremely precise photometry. For instance, Jupiter transit results to a 1% brightness decrease of a solar type star while the Earth causes only a 0.0084% decrease (84 ppm). Spectroscopic measurements require still greater precision <30ppm. The Precision Projector Laboratory (PPL) is a collaboration between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to characterize and validate detectors through emulation of science images. At PPL we have developed a testbed to project simulated spectra and other images onto a HgCdTe array in order to assess precision photometry for transits, weak lensing etc. for Explorer concepts like JWST, WFIRST, EUCLID. In our controlled laboratoryexperiment, the goal is to demonstrate ability to extract weak transit spectra as expected for NIRCam, NIRIS and NIRSpec. Two lamps of variable intensity, along with spectral line and photometric simulation masks emulate the signals from a star-only, from a planet-only and finally, from a combination of a planet + star. Three masks have been used to simulate spectra in monochromatic light. These masks, which are fabricated at JPL, have a length of 1000 pixels and widths of 2 pixels, 10 pixels and 1 pixel to correspond respectively to the noted above JWST instruments. From many-hour long observing sequences, we obtain time series photometry with deliberate offsets introduced to test sensitivity to pointing jitter and other effects. We can modify the star-planet brightness contrast by factors up to 10^4:1. With cross correlation techniques we calculate positional shifts which are then used to decorrelate the effects of vertical and lateral offsets due to turbulence and instrumental vibrations on the photometry. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we reject correlated temporal noise to achieve a precision lower than 50 ppm (Clanton et al. 2012). In our current work, after decorrelation of vertical and lateral offsets along with PCA, we achieve a precision of sim20 ppm. To assess the photometric precision we use the Allan variance (Allan 1987). This statistical method is used to characterize noise and stability as it indicates shot noise limited performance. Testbed experiments are ongoing to provide quantitative information on the achievable spectroscopic precision using realistic exoplanet spectra with the goal to define optimized data acquisition sequences for use, for example, with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Clay formations are potential host rocks for high-level radioactive waste repositories. In clay materials, the radionuclide diffusion is the main transport mechanism, thus, the understanding of the diffusion processes and the determination of diffusion parameters under conditions as similar as possible to the real ones, are critical for the performance assessment of deep geological repository. A large-scale laboratory diffusion experiment in a large cylindrical block of consolidated clay is presented in this work, trying to approach to the real conditions. In this experimental set-up the radionuclides were mixed with the clay obtained from the drilling of a central hole in the large sample, and re-compacted into the hole at approximately the same density as the consolidated block, forming a tracer “solid source”. The system, that was sealed after the addition of the tracer, did not need additional treatment of the sample nor external monitoring. After the experimental time selected for diffusion to take place (estimated by scoping calculations), the block was sampled to obtain a 3D distribution of the tracer concentration. The modelling of the tracer distribution allowed the estimation of the diffusion parameters on different geometrical planes. The proposed methodology was tested in the Opalinus clay from Mont Terri (Switzerland) with preliminary diffusion tests of neutral (HTO), anionic ( 36Cl), and weakly sorbing ( 85Sr) radionuclides and very promising results were obtained. It is interesting noticing that such a configuration could be used as an “ in situ” methodology for diffusion tests without any modification.

This is the first of two reports on the dynamics and control of slewing maneuvers of the NASA Spacecraft Control LaboratoryExperiment (SCOLE). In this report, the dynamics of slewing maneuvers of SCOLE are developed in terms of an arbitrary maneuver about any given axis. The set of dynamical equations incorporate rigid-body slew maneuver and three-dimensional vibrations of the complete assembly comprising the rigid shuttle, the flexible beam, and the reflector with an offset mass. The analysis also includes kinematic nonlinearities of the entire assembly during the maneuver and the dynamics of the interaction between the rigid shuttle and the flexible appendage. The final set of dynamical equations obtained for slewing maneuvers is highly nonlinear and coupled in terms of the flexible modes and the rigid-body modes. The equations are further simplified and evaluated numerically to include the first ten flexible modes and the SCOLE data to yield a model for designing control systems to perform slew maneuvers.

Laboratoryexperiments show that dusty bodies in a gaseous environment eject dust particles if they are illuminated. We find that even more intense dust eruptions occur when the light source is turned off. We attribute this to a compression of gas by thermal creep in response to the changing temperature gradients in the top dust layers. The effect is studied at a light flux of 13 kW/(m*m) and 1 mbar ambient pressure. The effect is applicable to protoplanetary disks and Mars. In the inner part of protoplanetary disks, planetesimals can be eroded especially at the terminator of a rotating body. This leads to the production of dust which can then be transported towards the disk edges or the outer disk regions. The generated dust might constitute a significant fraction of the warm dust observed in extrasolar protoplanetary disks. We estimate erosion rates of about 1 kg/s for 100 m parent bodies. The dust might also contribute to subsequent planetary growth in different locations or on existing protoplanets which ...

Bulk electrical conductivity (EC) in superactive soils has been shown to strongly influence electromagnetic sensing of permittivity. However, these effects are dependent on soil water content and temperature as well as the pore water conductivity. We carried out isothermal column displacement experi...

operating in the laboratory using video cameras for flow visualization. Computer software and numerical codes, called FANS, were used to validate the laboratoryexperiments. The study was split into two major parts: laboratoryexperiments and hydrodynamic...

Measurements of electrical conductivity of "slightly damp" mantle minerals from different laboratories are inconsistent, requiring geophysicists to make choices between them when interpreting their electrical observations. These choices lead to dramatically different conclusions about the amount of water in the mantle, resulting in conflicting conclusions regarding rheological conditions; this impacts on our understanding of mantle convection, among other processes. To attempt to reconcile these differences, we test the laboratory-derived proton conduction models by choosing the simplest petrological scenario possible - cratonic lithosphere - from two locations in southern Africa where we have the most complete knowledge. We compare and contrast the models with field observations of electrical conductivity and of the amount of water in olivine and show that none of the models for proton conduction in olivine proposed by three laboratories are consistent with the field observations. We derive statistically model parameters of the general proton conduction equation that satisfy the observations. The pre-exponent dry proton conduction term (?0) and the activation enthalpy (?Hwet) are derived with tight bounds, and are both within the broader 2? errors of the different laboratory measurements. The two other terms used by the experimentalists, one to describe proton hopping (exponent ron pre-exponent water contentCw) and the other to describe H2O concentration-dependent activation enthalpy (term?Cw1/3 added to the activation energy), are less well defined and further field geophysical and petrological observations are required, especially in regions of higher temperature and higher water content.

A case is made for the pedagogical advantages of standardizing on LabVIEW-based computer-controlled experiments in introductory chemistry laboratory instruction. Experiments already in use, some for several years, in courses with large enrollments are described.

Spatial and temporal patterns of acoustic emission (AE) were studied. A pre-fractured cylinder of granite was loaded in a triaxial machine at 160 MPa confining pressure until stick-slip events occurred. The experiments were conducted at a constant strain rate of 10?7 s?1 that was modulated by small-amplitude sinusoidal oscillations with periods of 175 and 570 seconds. Amplitude of the oscillations was a few percent of the total load and was intended to simulate periodic loading observed in nature (e.g., earth tides or other sources). An ultrasonic acquisition system with 13 piezosensors recorded acoustic emissions that were generated during deformation of the sample. We observed a correlation between AE response and sinusoidal loading. The effect was more pronounced for higher frequency of the modulating force. A time-space spectral analysis for a “point” process was used to investigate details of the periodic AE components. The main result of the study was the correlation of oscillations of acoustic activity synchronized with the applied oscillating load. The intensity of the correlated AE activity was most pronounced in the “aftershock” sequences that followed large-amplitude AE events. We suggest that this is due to the higher strain-sensitivity of the failure area when the sample is in a transient, unstable mode. We also found that the synchronization of AE activity with the oscillating external load nearly disappeared in the period immediately after the stick-slip events and gradually recovered with further loading.

Fluorescent proteins are commonly used in cell biology to assess where proteins are within a cell as a function of time and provide insight into intracellular protein function. However, the usefulness of a fluorescent protein depends directly on the quantum yield. The quantum yield relates the efficiency at which a fluorescent molecule converts absorbed photons into emitted photons and it is necessary to know for assessing what fluorescent protein is the most appropriate for a particular application. In this work, we have designed an upper-level, biochemistry laboratoryexperiment where students measure the fluorescence quantum yields of fluorescent proteins relative to a standard organic dye. Four fluorescent protein variants, enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP), enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), mCitrine, and mCherry, were used, however the methods described are useful for the characterization of any fluorescent protein or could be expanded to fluorescent quantum yield measurements of organic dye molecules. The laboratory is designed as a guided inquiry project and takes two, 4 hr laboratory periods. During the first day students design the experiment by selecting the excitation wavelength, choosing the standard, and determining the concentration needed for the quantum yield experiment that takes place in the second laboratory period. Overall, this laboratory provides students with a guided inquiry learning experience and introduces concepts of fluorescence biophysics into a biochemistry laboratory curriculum. PMID:25395254

The present laboratory study investigates the behavior of a self-propagating barotropic cyclonic vortex colliding perpendicularly with aligned circular cylinders and determines the condition for a vortex to bifurcate and split into multiple vortices and/or to generate dipoles downstream of the cylinders. During the experiments, four parameters were varied: G, the gap width between the cylinders; d, the diameter of the incident vortex; Ydis, a parameter expressing the initial vortex positions; and Disl, the total length of the "middle" island. It has been observed that as long as 0.1 < G/d ? 0.4, the vortex fluid was funneled between two cylinders at one of the gaps and a dipole generally formed, much like water ejected from a circular nozzle generates a dipole ring. After the dipole formed, the cyclonic part of the dipole became dominant and self propagated away from the cylinders. Furthermore, in some experiments having 0.2 < Disl/d ? 0.5, after a weak dipole formed, the remnant of the original vortex moved zonally "south." When the remnant of the vortex came in contact with a new cylinder, fluid peeled off the outer edge of the vortex and a so-called "streamer" went around the cylinder in a counterclockwise direction. Under the right conditions, this fluid formed a new cyclonic vortex in the wake of the cylinder, causing bifurcation of the original vortex into two vortices, as observed in previous studies. In general, independently of the configurations and Ydis, the number of cyclonic vortices downstream of the cylinders was one, either originating from the dipole or generated by the bifurcation of the original vortex. The vortex center position, radius, and circulation, before and after the interaction, were computed from its velocity field. It was found that for 0.1 < G/d ? 0.4, intense vortices experienced greater amplitude loss than weak vortices. The formation of both a dominant cyclone and an anticyclone (i.e., a dipole) downstream of the aligned cylinders, representing an island chain, is in agreement with recent oceanic observations of North Brazil Current (NBC) rings interacting with the Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean Sea. Since the passages of the Lesser Antilles have values of 0.07 ? G/d ? 0.3, the oceanic observations might be explained by the experimental results reported in this paper.

Three sections (two conventional and one experimental) of English 140 at St. Petersburg Junior College (Florida) were used to investigate whether or not the use of a writing laboratory would lead to writing improvement. The laboratory provided scheduled opportunities for writing revision and improvement through peer criticism and tape-recorder…

An experiment in the parallel synthesis of azo dyes that demonstrates the concepts of structure-activity relationships and chemical diversity with vivid colors is described. It is seen that this experiment is suitable for the second-semester organic chemistry laboratory and also for the one-semester organic laboratory.

Detection of buried tree root samples by using geoelectrical measurements: a laboratoryexperiment measurements to detect and differentiate different root samples of trees rooted in dikes. A laboratoryexperiment was performed to describe the electrical signal of buried freshly cut root samples according

This project involved developing a method to remediate large quantities of aqueous waste from a general chemistry laboratoryexperiment. Aqueous Ni(II) waste from a general chemistry laboratoryexperiment was converted into solid nickel hydroxide hydrate with a substantial decrease in waste volume. The remediation method was developed for a…

Capillary electrophoresis is gradually working its way into the undergraduate laboratory curriculum. Typically, experiments utilizing this newer technology have been introduced into analytical or instrumental courses. The authors of this article have introduced an experiment into the introductory laboratory that utilizes capillary electrophoresis…

There has been a significant increase in the number of clinical drug trials (particularly phase III) being conducted in developing countries for infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. Laboratory results provided by medical testing laboratories in the region are critical to ensuring the safety of patients and the generation of good quality data. A number of well accepted

In the 300 Area of a U(VI)-contaminated aquifer at Hanford, Washington, USA, inorganic carbon and major cations, which have large impacts on U(VI) transport, change on an hourly and seasonal basis near the Columbia River. Batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate the factors controlling U(VI) adsorption/desorption by changing chemical conditions over time. Low alkalinity and low Ca concentrations (Columbia River water) enhanced adsorption and reduced aqueous concentrations. Conversely, high alkalinity and high Ca concentrations (Hanford groundwater) reduced adsorption and increased aqueous concentrations of U(VI). An equilibrium surface complexation model calibrated using laboratory batch experiments accounted for the decrease in U(VI) adsorption observed with increasing (bi)carbonate concentrations and other aqueous chemical conditions. In the column experiment, alternating pulses of river and groundwater caused swings in aqueous U(VI) concentration. A multispecies multirate surface complexation reactive transport model simulated most of the major U(VI) changes in two column experiments. The modeling results also indicated that U(VI) transport in the studied sediment could be simulated by using a single kinetic rate without loss of accuracy in the simulations. Moreover, the capability of the model to predict U(VI) transport in Hanford groundwater under transient chemical conditions depends significantly on the knowledge of real-time change of local groundwater chemistry.

This study presents the results of laboratoryexperiments investigating the influence of rainfall characteristics on runoff generation and soil erosion, conducted with a syringe-needle-type rainfall generator and a soil flume. The experiment scenarios are divided as fixed location rainfall and moving rainfall. Rainfall intensity, location (distance from the soil flume outlet), duration, movement direction, and movement velocity (which determines the rainfall duration) are considered systematically to construct experiment scenarios. Since the experiments are designed to provide testing data for a consequent numerical simulation approach, the recorded information include both integrated hydrologic-response, such as hydrograph and accumulated soil loss at the flume outlet, and distributed hydrologic-response, such as soil water content at several observation locations. The results show that not only integrated hydrologic-response, but also distributed hydrologic-response vary considerably with rainfall characteristics. Rainfall movement direction has a significant impact on hydrograph, accumulated soil loss, and the distributed soil water contents. The impact of rainfall intensity is more important in scenarios with higher rainfall movement velocity comparing to scenarios with lower velocity.

The STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Program provides 9-week paid summer research experiences at national research laboratories for future science and math teachers. The program, run by the Cal Poly Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME) on behalf of the entire California State University (CSU) System, has arranged 290 research internships for 230 STEM undergraduates and credential candidates from 43 campuses over the past 6 years. The program has partnered with seven Department of Energy labs, four NASA centers, three NOAA facilities, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). Primary components of the summer experience include a) conducting research with a mentor or mentor team, b) participating in weekly 2-3 hour workshops focused on translating lessons learned from summer research into classroom practice, and c) presenting a research poster or oral presentation and providing a lesson plan linked to the summer research experience. The central premise behind the STAR Program is that future science and math teachers can more effectively prepare the next generation of science, math, and engineering students if they themselves have authentic experiences as researchers.

A two-year international road tunnel fire detection research project (Phase II) was completed recently. As part of this project,\\u000a a series of fire tests were conducted in a laboratory tunnel facility under minimum and longitudinal airflow conditions. In\\u000a addition, fire tests were also conducted in the Carré-Viger tunnel in Montreal. This paper presents the results of the full-scale\\u000a experimentsconducted

This qualitative study investigates the gap between a lab experiment and theory of science. Two groups of 4 students in 2 different classes in 11th grade (15-16 years old) are followed as they process results and experiences from a lab experiment using a digital environment. The experiment is as a part of a larger project about genes and cells,…

Analysis of the 2007 M5.4 Alum Rock earthquake near San José California showed that magnetic pulsations were present in large numbers and with significant amplitudes during the 2 week period leading up the event. These pulsations were 1-30 s in duration, had unusual polarities (many with only positive or only negative polarities versus both polarities), and were different than other pulsations observed over 2 years of data in that the pulse sequence was sustained over a 2 week period prior to the quake, and then disappeared shortly after the quake. A search for the underlying physics process that might explain these pulses was was undertaken, and one theory (Freund, 2002) demonstrated that charge carriers were released when various types of rocks were stressed in a laboratory environment. It was also significant that the observed charge carrier generation was transient, and resulted in pulsating current patterns. In an attempt to determine if this phenomenon occurred outside of the laboratory environment, the authors scaled up the physics experiment from a relatively small rock sample in a dry laboratory setting, to a large 7 metric tonne boulder comprised of Yosemite granite. This boulder was located in a natural, humid (above ground) setting at Bass Lake, Ca. The boulder was instrumented with two Zonge Engineering, Model ANT4 induction type magnetometers, two Trifield Air Ion Counters, a surface charge detector, a geophone, a Bruker Model EM27 Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectrometer with Sterling cycle cooler, and various temperature sensors. The boulder was stressed over about 8 h using expanding concrete (Bustartm), until it fractured into three major pieces. The recorded data showed surface charge build up, magnetic pulsations, impulsive air conductivity changes, and acoustical cues starting about 5 h before the boulder actually broke. These magnetic and air conductivity pulse signatures resembled both the laboratory rock stressing results and the 30 October 2007 M5.4 Alum Rock earthquake field data. The second part of this paper examined other California earthquakes, prior to the Alum Rock earthquake, to see if magnetic pulsations were also present prior to those events. A search for field examples of medium earthquakes was performed to identify earthquakes where functioning magnetometers were present within 20 km, the expected detection range of the magnetometers. Two earthquakes identified in the search included the 12 August 1998 M5.1 San Juan Bautista (Hollister Ca.) earthquake and the 28 September 2004 M6.0 Parkfield Ca. earthquake. Both of these data sets were recorded using EMI Corp. Model BF4 induction magnetometers, installed in equipment owned and operated by UC Berkeley. Unfortunately, no air conductivity or IR data were available for these earthquake examples. This new analysis of old data used the raw time series data (40 samples per s), and examined the data for short duration pulsations that exceeded the normal background noise levels at each site, similar to the technique used at Alum Rock. Analysis of Hollister magnetometer, positioned 2 km from the epicenter, showed a significant increase in magnetic pulsations above quiescient threshold levels several weeks prior, and especially 2 days prior to the quake. The pattern of positive and negative pulsations observed at Hollister, were similar, but not identical to Alum Rock in that the pattern of pulsations were interspersed with Pc 1 pulsation trains, and did not start 2 weeks prior to the quake, but rather 2 days prior. The Parkfield data (magnetometer positioned 19 km from the epicenter) showed much smaller pre-earthquake pulsations, but the area had significantly higher conductivity (which attenuates the signals). More interesting was the fact that significant pulsations occurred between the aftershock sequences of quakes as the crustal stress patterns were migrating. Comparing laboratory, field experiments with a boulder, and earthquake events, striking similarities were noted in magnetic pulsations and air conductivity changes, as well

The complexity characterization of the porous media structure, in terms of the "pore" phase and the "solid" phase, can be carried out by means of the fractal geometry which is able to put in relationship the soil structural properties and the water content. It is particularly complicated to describe analytically the hydraulic conductivity for the irregularity of the porous media structure. However these can be described by many fractal models considering the soil structure as the distribution of particles dimensions, the distribution of the solid aggregates, the surface of the pore-solid interface and the fractal mass of the "pore" and "solid" phases. In this paper the fractal model of Yu and Cheng (2002) and Yu and Liu (2004), for a saturated bidispersed porous media, was considered. This model, using the Sierpinsky-type gasket scheme, doesn't contain empiric constants and furnishes a well accord with the experimental data. For this study an unconfined aquifer was reproduced by means of a tank with a volume of 10 Ã- 7 Ã- 3 m3, filled with a homogeneous sand (95% of SiO2), with a high percentage (86.4%) of grains between 0.063mm and 0.125mm and a medium-high permeability. From the hydraulic point of view, 17 boreholes, a pumping well and a drainage ring around its edge were placed. The permeability was measured utilizing three different methods, consisting respectively in pumping test, slug test and laboratory analysis of an undisturbed soil cores, each of that involving in the measurement a different support volume. The temporal series of the drawdown obtained by the pumping test were analyzed by the Neuman-type Curve method (1972), because the saturated part above the bottom of the facility represents an unconfined aquifer. The data analysis of the slug test were performed by the Bouwer & Rice (1976) method and the laboratory analysis were performed on undisturbed saturated soil samples utilizing a falling head permeameter. The obtained values either of the fractal dimension of the area of the pores (Df) or of the fractal dimension of capillary tortuosity (DT), very similar to those reported in literature (Yu and Cheng, 2002; Yu and Liu, 2004; Yu, 2005) and falling in the range of definition (1 < Df < 2), resulted very close to those carried out in a previous study performed on the same apparatus but with a limited number of values (De Bartolo et al., in review). In fact in the present study the laboratory analysis were performed on other 10 undisturbed soil samples and moreover three new values of slug test and 12 new of pumping test were considered. Moreover the trend of DT growing with the scale length (L) was confirmed, as well as the invariability of, due to the homogeneity of the considered porous media. The linear scaling law of the permeability (k) close to scale length was investigated furnishing more reliable results. However for a better definition of a law of scale for Df, DT and k several number of scale length are need and a greater number of experimental data should be carried out. For this purpose the considered experimental apparatus is limited from its restricted dimensions and geometric bounds; therefore further investigations in experimental field are desirable. Bibliografy Bouwer, H. & Rice, R. C. 1976. A Slug Test for Hydraulic Conductivity of Unconfined Aquifers With Completely or Partially Penetrating Wells, Water Resources Research, 12(3). De Bartolo, S., Fallico, C., Straface, S., Troisi, S. & Veltri M. (in review). Scaling of the hydraulic conductivity measurements by a fractal analysis on an unconfined aquifer reproduced in a laboratory facility, Geoderma Special Issue 2008. Neuman, S.P. 1972. Theory of flow in unconfined aquifers considering delayed response of the water table, Water Resources Research, 8(4), 1031-1045. Yu, B.M. 2005. Fractal Character for Tortuous Streamtubes in Porous Media, Chin. Phis. Lett., 22(1), 158. Yu, B.M. & Cheng, P. 2002. A Fractal Permeability Model for Bi-Dispersed Porous Media, Int. J. Heat Mas

Magnetic reconnection governs variety of energy release events in the universe, such as solar flares, geomagnetic substorms, and sawtooth crash in laboratory nuclear fusion experiments. Differently from the classical steady reconnection models, non-steady behavior of magnetic reconnection is often observed. In solar flares, intermittent enhancement of HXR emission is observed synchronously with multiple ejection of plammoids [1]. In laboratory reconnection experiments, the existence of the guide field, that is perpendicular to the reconnection field, makes significant changes on reconnection process. Generally the guide field will slow down the reconnection rate due to the increased magnetic pressure inside the current sheet. It also brings about asymmetric structure of the separatrices or effective particle acceleration in collisionless conditions. We have conductedlaboratoryexperiments to study the behavior of the guide-field magnetic reconnection using plasma merging technique (push reconnection). Under substantial guide field even larger than the reconnection field, the reconnection generally exhibits non-steady feature which involves intermittent detachment of X-point and reconnection current center[2]. Transient enhancement of reconnection rate is observed simultaneously with the X-point motion[3]. We found two distinct phenomena associated with the guide-field non-steady reconnection. The one is the temporal and localized He II emission from X-point region, suggesting the production of energetic electrons which could excite the He ions in the vicinity of the X-point. The other is the excitation of large-amplitude electromagnetic waves which have similar properties with kinetic Alfven waves, whose amplitude show positive correlation with the enhancement of the reconnection electric field[4]. Electron beam instability caused by the energetic electrons accelerated to more than twice of the electron thermal velocity could be a potential driver of the monochromatic magnetic fluctuations. In conclusion, the laboratory guide field reconnection experiments showed some unique features such as ejection of current sheet, localized enhancement of emission, and excitation of low frequency waves, suggesting intermittent fast reconnection mechanism with significant electron acceleration. [1] N. Nishizuka et al., Astrophysical J. 711, 1062 (2010). [2] Y. Ono et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 111213 (2011). [3] M. Inomoto et al., Plasma and Fusion Res. 8, 2401112 (2013). [4] M. Inomoto et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 061209 (2013).

. Palermo, Chief, Water Resources Engineering Group and the Internship Supervisor, and Mr. Richardson, Chief, Engineering Development Division, Coastal Engineering Research Center, who all genuinely supported this effort and made the policy a reality... and major elements within OCE ...................... 5 2 Corps of Engineers Divisions and Districts ................. 7 3 Corps of Engineers Support Laboratories ...................... 7 4 Technical laboratories at the Waterways Experiment Station...

Organic substrates in reactive barrier systems are often heterogeneous material mixtures with relatively large contrasts in hydraulic conductivity and porosity over short distances. These short-range variations in material properties imply that preferential flow paths and diffusion between regions of higher and lower hydraulic conductivity may be important for treatment efficiency. This paper presents the results of a laboratory column experiment where denitrification is investigated using a heterogeneous reactive substrate (sawdust mixed with sewage sludge). Displacement experiments with a non-reactive solute at three different flow rates are used to estimate transport parameters using a dual porosity non-equilibrium model. Parameter estimation from breakthrough curves produced relatively consistent values for the fraction of the porosity consisting of mobile water (?) and the mass transfer coefficient (?), with average values of 0.27 and 0.42 d - 1 , respectively. The column system removes > 95% of the influent nitrate at low and medium flow, but only 50-75% of the influent nitrate at high flow, suggesting that denitrification kinetics and diffusive mass transfer rates are limiting the degree of treatment at lower hydraulic residence times. Reactive barrier systems containing dual porosity media must therefore consider mass transfer times in their design; this is often most easily accommodated by adjusting flowpath length.

Attempts to gain an understanding of spacecraft plasma dynamics via experimental investigation of the interaction between artificially synthesized, collisionless, flowing plasmas and laboratory test bodies date back to the early 1960's. In the past 25 years, a number of researchers have succeeded in simulating certain limited aspects of the complex spacecraft-space plasma interaction reasonably well. Theoretical treatments have also provided limited models of the phenomena. Several active experiments were recently conducted from the space shuttle that specifically attempted to observe the Orbiter-ionospheric interaction. These experiments have contributed greatly to an appreciation for the complexity of spacecraft-space plasma interaction but, so far, have answered few questions. Therefore, even though the plasma dynamics of hypersonic spacecraft is fundamental to space technology, it remains largely an open issue. A brief overview is provided of the primary results from previous ground-based experimental investigations and the preliminary results of investigations conducted on the STS-3 and Spacelab 2 missions. In addition, several, as yet unexplained, aspects of the spacecraft-space plasma interaction are suggested for future research.

Fragmentation of vesicular magma by rapid decompression is a key process in explosive eruptions. To determine the fragmentation criteria, we carried out laboratoryexperiments on magma fragmentation using analogous materials. We used commercial syrup as an analogous material of magma, because the viscosity was widely altered by adding or subtracting water contents in the syrup. We made the bubbly syrup by adding hydrogen peroxide with manganese oxide in the syrup. The amount of hydrogen peroxide is proportional to the gas volume fraction in the syrup. We measured the rheological properties of the syrup. Zero shear viscosity ? was measured by a rotating viscometer and a fiber elongation technique. Glass transition temperature was measured by differential scanning calorimetry. The measured data indicated that the temperature dependence of viscosity was described well using Williams-Landel-Ferry (WLF) equation. The solid content of syrup alters the viscosity as well as the glass transition temperature, though it may hardly affect the rigidity ?, which was measured by ultrasonic test in our previous work. We used a pressurized vertical tube with a large vacuum vessel to apply the rapid decompression on the material. An acrylic container, filled with the bubbly syrup, was placed in the bottom of the pressurized tube. By rupturing the diaphragms inserted between the tube and the vacuum vessel, the bubbly syrup is rapidly decompressed due to expansion of the pressurized gas in the tube. A high-speed video camera was used to obtain sequential images of the materials. Pressure transducers were mounted on the sidewall of the tube and the bottom of the container. The initial pressure was varied from 1 MPa to 5 MPa. The gas-volume fraction of the syrup under pressure was fixed as 2 % to 20%. The viscosity varied from 105 Pa·s to 108 Pa·s. We successfully observed three principal behaviors using the present analogous material; brittle fragmentation, partial fracture and ductile expansion without crack initiation. From all the experimental data, in conclusion, the fragmentation is observed when the pressure drop ? p reaches a critical value within the order of relaxation time of syrup, which is defined as ?/?. Simultaneously, the initial gas volume fraction should be larger than a critical value, which decreases as the initial high-pressure is larger.

The present study investigates the interaction between a self-propagating cyclonic vortex with two right vertical cylinders and determines the conditions for a vortex to bifurcate into two or more vortices. As in previous studies, after the cyclonic vortex came in contact with a cylinder, fluid peeled off the outer edge of the vortex and a so-called "streamer" went around the cylinder in a counterclockwise direction. Under the right conditions, this fluid formed a new cyclonic vortex in the wake of the cylinder, causing bifurcation of the original vortex into two vortices. In some cases, two streamers formed and went around the two cylinders, each forming a new cyclonic vortex. During the experiments, three parameters were varied: G, the separation between the cylinders; d, the diameter of the incident vortex; and y, the distance of the center of the vortex from an axis passing through the center of the gap between the cylinders. The number of vortices generated by the interaction depends on the ratio G/d and on the geometry of the encounter, which is given by the ratio y/g, where g = G/2. An unexpected and revealing result was the formation of a dipole vortex downstream of the two islands for values of -2 < y/g < 0, 0.25 ? G/d ? 0.4, and ReG > 200, where ReG = UGG/? is the Reynolds number and UG is the maximum velocity of the vortex fluid in the gap. A possible mechanism is that the flow within the vortex was funneled between the two islands, and provided it had a sufficiently high velocity, a dipole formed, much like water ejected from a circular nozzle generates a dipole ring. The formation of a vortex of opposite sign to the incident vortex (i.e., anticyclonic) is in agreement with recent observations of North Brazil Current (NBC) rings interacting with the islands of Saint Vincent and Barbados in the eastern Caribbean. The passage between the islands of Saint Vincent and Barbados has values of G/d of approximately 0.5; hence the laboratory result suggests that both cyclonic and anticyclonic vortices could form downstream of them.

Recent studies suggest that cooperative decision-making in one-shot interactions is a history-dependent dynamic process: promoting intuition versus deliberation typically has a positive effect on cooperation (dynamism) among people living in a cooperative setting and with no previous experience in economic games on cooperation (history dependence). Here, we report on a laboratoryexperiment exploring how these findings transfer to a non-cooperative setting. We find two major results: (i) promoting intuition versus deliberation has no effect on cooperative behaviour among inexperienced subjects living in a non-cooperative setting; (ii) experienced subjects cooperate more than inexperienced subjects, but only under time pressure. These results suggest that cooperation is a learning process, rather than an instinctive impulse or a self-controlled choice, and that experience operates primarily via the channel of intuition. Our findings shed further light on the cognitive basis of human cooperative decision-making and provide further support for the recently proposed social heuristics hypothesis. PMID:26156762

One major objective of the iSOIL project is the determination of so called pedotransferfunctions linking measured geophysical parameters (for example conductivity and permittivity) to soil parameters (like clay content or salinity). Some empirical, site-dependent pedophysical functions are already developed, but there are limitations of validation regarding soil types, applied methodology, measuring boundaries etc. To develop new and to extend known models laboratory and in situ experiments of different kinds should be carried out. For the laboratoryexperiments we collected disturbed samples (50kg each) of different soil types and from different depths. These samples are dried, crushed and then saturated with rain water in steps of approximately 2-5% volumetric water content. After each saturation step the samples are mixed thoroughly until they are assumed to be homogeneously and filled in a cylindrical container. We then conduct GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) measurements with a 1.5GHz antenna using a metal plate underneath the container as a reflector to get the permittivity of the soil at each water content step. Also geoelectrical measurements determining the resistivity are carried out in different electrode spacings and configurations for each saturation step. For the whole series of measurements the water content is controlled by gravimetrical methods and TDR (Time-domain reflectometry) measurements. Different empirical and hypothetical pedotransferfunctions have been fitted to the electrical (resistivity) and dielectrical (permittivity, radar velocity) parameters and discussed. Acknowledgement: iSOIL-Interactions between soil related sciences - Linking geophysics, soil science and digital soil mapping is a Collaborative Project (Grant Agreement number 211386) co-funded by the Research DG of the European Commission within the RTD activities of the FP7 Thematic Priority Environment.

Thermal Science laboratory is the third course in the sequence of four mechanical engineering laboratories offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. The course is one credit hour, meeting once a week for two hours. The course includes selected experiments on heat transfer and thermodynamics. In an effort to give students a combination of theoretical background and hands-on experience, a new experiment on gas turbine engine was introduced. This paper describes the experiences the students gained in this experiment. During this laboratory the students actually learned how to operate a turbojet engine, collected and analyzed the output data including thrust and efficiency, and related the experimental result to the theory learned in the thermodynamics course. This experiment complemented the thermal science laboratory course and fully integrated some aspects of thermodynamics and enhanced the students learning process.

This article introduces the life of Shomatsu Yokoyama (1913-1992), a physiologist and military doctor, to the reader. During the Sino-Japanese war, Yokoyama disobeyed orders given by his superior officer to conduct inhumane medical experiments on humans. Not only in Unit 731, but also in other units, many military doctors were involved in medical crimes against residents of the areas invaded by the Japanese Army. Inhumane living-body experiments and vivisections were widely conducted at that time. There were, however, a small number of researchers who did not follow the orders to perform human-body experiments. Highlighting the life of such a rare researcher for the purpose of ascertaining the reason for his noncompliance with the order will provide us with insights on medical ethics. When Yokoyama was a student, his teacher, Professor Rinya Kawamura, informed him that he had been requested by the army to conduct special experiments. The remuneration for conducting such experiments was over 10 times more than the research fund allocated to the professor. Kawamura declined the request on the grounds that accepting it was against humanity. Kawamura warned Yokoyama that he might face the same situation in the future and asked Yokoyama to mark his words. Yokoyama was called to Ko-1855 Unit in 1944 and ordered to carry out living-body experiments by his superior officer. He disregarded the order, remembering Kawamura's words. As a result, he was dispatched to the dangerous frontlines. This article explores why Yokoyama was able to disobey the order to conduct inhumane experiments while shedding light on his personal background and his relationship with Rinya Kawamura. This article chronicles the life of one medical researcher who followed the dictates of his conscience during and after the war. PMID:19244742

Describes three elementary optics experiments using a laser instead of conventional light sources. Experiments illustrate the Fresnel-Arago law, elliptical polarization, double refraction and polarization in calcite, and interference by a Fresnel biprism. Because of the high intensity of the laser beam, these experiments lend themselves very well…

Researchers agree that the conduct of field research is a challenging and enlightening experience. This article describes an African-American (AA) researcher's experiences in accessing and conducting field research in an AA community. These experiences were from a Grounded Theory (GT) qualitative research study to understand the social contexts and processes, and other interrelated factors such as beliefs in God or a higher being and role expectations on mammography-screening decision-making in older, urban AA women of various socioeconomic strata. The field experience of accessing and recruiting AA women into a GT study were partly influenced by two prior historical studies conducted by the Federal government that resulted in violation of human rights. These historical experiences greatly impacted the researcher's entrée into the AA community and success in conducting the GT study. The researcher realized the benefit of establishing professional relationship with key informants (church nurses) for the success of accessing and recruiting individuals into research studies. Of utmost importance, the researcher was viewed as an "outsider" and represented the separate, distinct world of the university. Particularly noteworthy was the fact that holding the same ethnicity of the AA community does not guarantee automatic initial or ongoing entrée into the community or recruitment of participants. PMID:12242748

Data sets produced by three different Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm (EPRB) experiments are tested against the hypothesis that the statistics of this data is described by quantum theory. Although these experiments generate data that violate Bell inequalities for suitable choices of the time-coincidence window, the analysis shows that it is highly unlikely that these data sets are compatible with the quantum theoretical description of the EPRB experiment, suggesting that the popular statements that EPRB experiments agree with quantum theory lack a solid scientific basis and that more precise experiments are called for.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) is one of the most widely used tools for assessing\\u000a implicit attitudes. To date, most IAT experiments have been run using Inquisit, a PC-based program. In the present article,\\u000a we describe a method for conducting IAT experiments using PsyScope, a free, downloadable, Macintosh-based program (see Bonatti,\\u000a n.d., for the OS

Laboratory hydraulic fracturing experiments were conducted to investigate two factors which could influence the use of the hydrofrac technique for in-situ stress determinations; the possible dependence of the breakdown pressure upon the rate of borehole pressurization, and the influence of pre-existing cracks on the orientation of generated fractures. The experiments have shown that while the rate of borehole pressurization has a marked effect on breakdown pressures, the pressure at which hydraulic fractures initiate (and thus tensile strength) is independent of the rate of borehole pressurization when the effect of fluid penetration is negligible. Thus, the experiments indicate that use of breakdown pressures rather than fracture initiation pressures may lead to an erroneous estimate of tectonic stresses. A conceptual model is proposed to explain anomalously high breakdown pressures observed when fracturing with high viscosity fluids. In this model, initial fracture propagation is presumed to be stable due to large differences between the borehole pressure and that within the fracture. In samples which contained pre-existing fractures which were 'leaky' to water, we found it possible to generate hydraulic fractures oriented parallel to the direction of maximum compression if high viscosity drilling mud was used as the fracturing fluid. ?? 1977.

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play a prominent role in chemistry laboratory instruction at research based universities. They teach almost all undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses. However, their role in laboratory instruction has often been overlooked in educational research. Interest in chemistry GTAs has been placed on training and their perceived expectations, but less attention has been paid to their experiences or their potential benefits from teaching. This work was designed to investigate GTAs' experiences in and benefits from laboratory instructional environments. This dissertation includes three related studies on GTAs' experiences teaching in general chemistry laboratories. Qualitative methods were used for each study. First, phenomenological analysis was used to explore GTAs' experiences in an expository laboratory program. Post-teaching interviews were the primary data source. GTAs experiences were described in three dimensions: doing, knowing, and transferring. Gains available to GTAs revolved around general teaching skills. However, no gains specifically related to scientific development were found in this laboratory format. Case-study methods were used to explore and illustrate ways GTAs develop a GTA self-image---the way they see themselves as instructors. Two general chemistry laboratory programs that represent two very different instructional frameworks were chosen for the context of this study. The first program used a cooperative project-based approach. The second program used weekly, verification-type activities. End of the semester interviews were collected and served as the primary data source. A follow-up case study of a new cohort of GTAs in the cooperative problem-based laboratory was undertaken to investigate changes in GTAs' self-images over the course of one semester. Pre-semester and post-semester interviews served as the primary data source. Findings suggest that GTAs' construction of their self-image is shaped through the interaction of 1) prior experiences, 2) training, 3) beliefs about the nature of knowledge, 4) beliefs about the nature of laboratory work, and 5) involvement in the laboratory setting. Further GTAs' self-images are malleable and susceptible to change through their laboratory teaching experiences. Overall, this dissertation contributes to chemistry education by providing a model useful for exploring GTAs' development of a self-image in laboratory teaching. This work may assist laboratory instructors and coordinators in reconsidering, when applicable, GTA training and support. This work also holds considerable implications for how teaching experiences are conceptualized as part of the chemistry graduate education experience. Findings suggest that appropriate teaching experiences may contribute towards better preparing graduate students for their journey in becoming scientists.

Laboratory measurements of rock strength provide limiting values of lithospheric stress, provided that one effective principal stress is known. Fracture strengths are too variable to be useful; however, rocks at shallow depth are probably fractured so that frictional strength may apply. A single linear friction law, termed Byedee's law, holds for all materials except clays, to pressures of more than

Describes a two-semester course designed to meet the needs of future elementary teachers, home economists, and occupational therapists. Laboratory work includes homemade calorimeters, inclined planes, and computing. Content areas of the course include measurement, physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, geology, and meteorology. (JN)

Teaching science to secondary students in an online environment is a growing international trend. Despite this trend, reports of empirical studies of this phenomenon are noticeably missing. With a survey concerning the nature of laboratory activities, this study describes the perspective of 35-secondary teachers from 15-different U.S. states who…

Argonne National Laboratory is currently positioned to provide access to high performance regional and national networks. Much of the impetus for this effort is the anticipated needs of the upcoming experimental program at the APS. Some APS collaborative access teams (CATs) are already pressing for network speed improvements and security enhancements. Requirements range from the need for high data rate,

First Year Chemistry at the University of Wollongong (UOW) includes compulsory practical classes run weekly for 10 weeks of each semester and completion of a prelaboratory activity is required to enter the laboratory for the weekly class. A Flash animation based prelaboratory program for First Year Chemistry is being developed and the Prelabs are administered via eLearning (VISTA). Prelaboratory activities

, that an individual is indifferent between giving time or money. We test this assumption in a laboratory (and other related phenomena concerning giving time and money to charity). Further, we test how individuals react to third-party information regarding charities...

Students in introductory chemistry classes typically appreciate seeing the connection between course content and the "real world". For this reason, we have developed a synthesis of creatine monohydrate--a popular supplement used in sports requiring short bursts of energy--for introductory organic chemistry laboratory courses. Creatine monohydrate…

Buoyant plume dispersion in the convective boundary layer (CBL) is investigated experimentally in a laboratory convection tank. The focus is on highly-buoyant plumes that loft near the CBL capping inversion and resist downward mixing. Highly- buoyant plumes are those with dimen...

3.6 Fourier Analysis MATLAB LaboratoryExperiment Purpose: This experiment demonstrates approximations of periodic signals by truncated Fourier series as defined in formula (3.4). Using MATLAB students, and to find the system response due to periodic inputs. Part 1. Find the trigonometric form of the Fourier

Discusses the history of the development of Newton's Law of Cooling. Describes an experimentconducted in the kitchen that is designed to test the rate of cooling of a hot block of iron. Finds that Newton's law does not represent very well the mechanism of heat loss. (Contains over 10 references.) (WRM)

conducted an experiment aimed at lowering household energy use. The utility company gave its customers is a concentration point for decisions around a large set of human and material resource flows. For example, design to support this approach is to marry "human factors" and "systems thinking" in design analysis. For example

This paper is a narrative of my personal experiences of conducting action research in Kenyan primary schools. It highlights the opportunities, successes, challenges and dilemmas I encountered during the process: from the school hunting period, to the carrying out of the actual research in two schools, with four teachers. This study reveals that…

The involvement of an actual class in the conduct of a product evaluation is described as a powerful learning experience for the students and a valuable service for a client. The essential elements of such a program are: (1) a teacher-negotiated contract for an evaluation; (2) students who sign on by enrolling for credit; (3) background provided…

1 Reports Machine Learning and Inference Laboratory Initial Experiments with the LEM1 Learnable, and Institute of Computer Science at the Polish Academy of Sciences #12;2 Initial Experiments with the LEM1. Michalski and Qi Zhang ABSTRACT This report presents results of a series of experiments on applying LEM1

This paper describes a set of new laboratoryexperiments developed for the senior level undergraduate networking course at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University. These experiments differ from existing networking experiments in that they emphasize the understanding of the dynamics of network protocols in addition to their applications, which makes them more suitable for ECE curricula. Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible responses to anomalous data obtained from experiments that are repeatable by carrying out additional or alternative experiments in the laboratory. Based on an analysis of responses from scientists to anomalous data taken from identification experiments on the Vinland Map, it was assumed…

This article describes a practical experiment for teaching basic spectroscopic techniques to introduce the topic of protein conformational change to students in the field of molecular biology, biochemistry, or structural biology. The spectroscopic methods employed in the experiment are absorbance, for protein concentration measurements, and…

Laser irradiation uniformity is a key issue and is treated in some detail. The basic irradiation uniformity requirements and practical ways of achieving these requirements are both discussed, along with two beam-smoothing techniques: induced spatial incoherence (ISI), and smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD). Experiments to measure and control the irradiation uniformity are also highlighted. Following the discussion of irradiation uniformity, a brief review of coronal physics is given, including the basic physical processes and their experimental signatures, together with a summary of pertinent diagnostics and results from experiments. Methods of determining ablation rates and thermal transport are also described. The hydrodynamics of laser-driven targets must be fully understood on the basis of experiments. Results from implosion experiments, including a brief description of the diagnostics, are presented. Future experiments aimed at determining ignition scaling and demonstrating hydrodynamically equivalent physics applicable to high-gain designs.

In the framework of the German Science Foundation's (DFG) priority program 'MetStröm' various laboratoryexperiments have been carried out in a differentially heated rotating annulus configuration in order to test, validate and tune numerical methods to be used for modeling large-scale atmospheric processes. This classic experimental set-up is well known since the late 1940s and is a widely studied minimal model of the general mid-latitude atmospheric circulation. The two most relevant factors of cyclogenesis, namely rotation and meridional temperature gradient are quite well captured in this simple arrangement. The tabletop-size rotating tank is divided into three sections by coaxial cylindrical sidewalls. The innermost section is cooled whereas the outermost annular cavity is heated, therefore the working fluid (de-ionized water) in the middle annular section experiences differential heat flow, which imposes thermal (density) stratification on the fluid. At high enough rotation rates the isothermal surfaces tilt, leading to baroclinic instability. The extra potential energy stored in this unstable configuration is then converted into kinetic energy, exciting drifting wave patterns of temperature and momentum anomalies. The signatures of these baroclinic waves at the free water surface have been analysed via infrared thermography in a wide range of rotation rates (keeping the radial temperature difference constant) and under different initial conditions (namely, initial spin-up and "spin-down"). Paralelly to the laboratory simulations of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, five other groups from the MetStröm collaboration have conducted simulations in the same parameter regime using different numerical approaches and solvers, and applying different initial conditions and perturbations for stability analysis. The obtained baroclinic wave patterns have been evaluated via determining and comparing their Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs), drift rates and dominant wave modes. Thus certain "benchmarks" have been created that can later be used as test cases for atmospheric numerical model validation. Both in the experiments and in the numerics multiple equilibrium states have been observed in the form of hysteretic behavior depending on the initial conditions. The precise quantification of these state and wave mode transitions may shed light to some aspects of the basic underlying dynamics of the baroclinic annulus configuration, still to be understood.

The presence of High Conductive Zones (HCZs) within the lower crust is explained by several mechanisms involving phases as graphite, brines and partial melts, which enhance the conductivity when inteconnected over large distances. In the Internal Betics (Southern Spain) the anomalous HCZ imaged at the bottom of a thinned lower crust (Pous et al., 1999) is combined with low seismic velocities and high heat flow values (Carbonell et al., 1998) supporting the hypothesis that partial melts are present at depths. This is further confirmed by the recovery of restitic lower crustal xenoliths retaining evidence of partial melting (Zeck, 1968). The xenolith also contain up to 2 wt% of graphite which may contribute to the conductivity enhancement. The present study is focused on the electrical conductivity at high pressure and temperature of four garnet-biotite-sillimanite metapelitic xenoliths collected from the Neogene dacites of El Hoyazo (SE Spain). The paragenesis is represented by garnet + biotite + sillimanite + plagioclase ± cordierite coexisting with graphite and widespread rhyolitic melt as inclusions and interstitial glass (~10 wt%) (Cesare & Gómez-Pugnaire, 2001). The assemblage developed during regional anatexis at 850-900°C and 500 - 700 MPa (Cesare et al., 1997) and melt was frozen-in during fast uplift. In order to discriminate the contibution of graphite and melt, assess the effect of their geometrical distribution and infer the influence of the glass rheology to the electrical conductivity, experiments were performed in two gas apparata at sealed and unsealed conditions. In unsealed runs, in fact, the porosity remains open which prevents graphite reconnection. The sealed experiments were conducted in a Paterson Apparatus up to 680°C and 840°C at 100 MPa and to 900°C at 300 MPa, the unsealed ones in an internally heated gas apparatus (IHPV) with Ar as pressure medium up to 950°C and 400 MPa. For each sample three mutually orthogonal cores (X, Y, Z) were drilled parallel to the macroscopic fabric elements to determine the electrical anisotropy: X parallel to lineation and Z normal to foliation. Two electrodes were placed on the top and the bottom surfaces of the cores in a two pole arrangement in both the Paterson apparatus and the HIPV. In the Paterson apparatus, Nickel electrodes were used together with iron jackets to control the oxygen fugacity and temperature was monitored with one K-type thermocouple soldered on one of the two electrodes. In the IHPV two Platinum discs were connected to Pt and PtRh wires as S-type thermocouples. An authomated impedance spectrometer was used to collect the resistivity values in the range 1-105 Hz. The Arrhenius plot of the Logarithmic specific conductivity versus the reciprocal absolute temperature, evidence that the electrical properties are remarkably similar in unsealed and sealed runs up to 700°C and linear above 400°C with an activation energy Ea =0.340 ÷ 0.561 eV. At 700°C, in unsealed experiments Ea increases to 1.03 ÷ 1.34 eV and a single impedance arc is observed at every temperature. In sealed experiments, the increment of Ea at 700°C is higher, up to 1.64 eV, and two impedance arcs (along direction X) or three (along Y) are observed. Melting occurs at T>800°C with the production of very tiny spinel + biotite + plagioclase + melt. At 700°C a phase interconnection is achieved which may be related to the glass transition temperature Te of the initial glass. The laboratory measurements are consistent with the magnetotelluric soundings at temperature of 800-880°C and compatible with the hypothesis that partial melts are present in the Alborán lower crust. This temperature value is important to constraint the actual geotherm in the area. REFERENCES Carbonell R., Sallarés V., Puos J., Dañobeitia J.J., Queralt P., Ledo J.J. and Dueñas G. Tectonophysics, 288: 137-152, 1998 Cesare B., Salvioli Mariani E. and Venturelli G., Mineral. Magaz. 61 (1): 15-27, 1997 Cesare B. & Gómez-Pugnaire M. T., Phys. Chem. Earth (A), 26 (4-5): 255-260, 2001 Holtz

To propel a spacecraft in the direction leaving the Sun, a magnetic sail (MagSail) blocks the hypersonic solar wind plasma\\u000a flow by an artificial magnetic field. In order to simulate the interaction between the solar wind and the artificially deployed\\u000a magnetic field produced around a magnetic sail spacecraft, a laboratory simulator was designed and constructed inside a space\\u000a chamber. As

This thesis evaluates the constant rate of strain and constant head techniques for measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of fine grained soils. A laboratory program compares hydraulic conductivity measurements made ...

Spectroscopic data acquired in the laboratory provide the interpretive foundation upon which compositional information about unexplored or unsampled planetary surfaces is derived from remotely obtained reflectance spectra. The RELAB is supported by NASA as a multi-user spectroscopy facility, and laboratory time can be made available at no charge to investigators who are in funded NASA programs. RELAB has two operational spectrometers available to NASA scientists: 1) a near- ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared bidirectional spectrometer and 2) a near- and mid- infrared FT-IR spectrometer. The overall purpose of the design and operation of the RELAB bidirectional spectrometer is to obtain high precision, high spectral resolution, bidirectional reflectance spectra of earth and planetary materials. One of the key elements of its design is the ability to measure samples using viewing geometries specified by the user. This allows investigators to simulate, under laboratory conditions, reflectance spectra obtained remotely (i.e., with spaceborne, telescopic, and airborne systems) as well as to investigate geometry dependent reflectance properties of geologic materials. The Nicolet 740 FT-IR spectrometer currently operates in reflectance mode from 0.9 to 25 Fm. Use and scheduling of the RELAB is monitored by a 4-member advisory committee. NASA investigators should direct inquiries to the Science Manager or RELAB Operator.

This paper reports heavy ion and proton-induced single event effect (SEE) results from recent tests for a variety of microelectronic devices. The compendium covers devices tested over the last two years by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The semipermeability of biological membranes is simply and directly illustrated in an experiment which uses ovolecithin liposomes as convenient models for biological membranes. Background information and procedures used are provided. (JN)

Describes an experiment for undergraduate chemistry laboratories involving a chemical found in plants and some sea animals. Discusses collection and identification of material, a hemolysis test, preparation of blood-coated agar plates, and application of samples. (CW)

The analysis describes an NMR experiment for the general chemistry laboratory, which employs an unknown imidazole solution to measure the pH values. The described mechanism can also be used for measuring the acidity within the isolated cells.

Ion acoustic wave experiments in a high school plasma physics laboratory Walter Gekelman Department and faculty from UCLA constructed a plasma physics device and began research on ion acoustic waves. Plasma

Describes an experiment to be performed in an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory that is based on a gradient centrifugation system employing a simple bench top centrifuge, a freezer, and frozen surcose gradient solution to separate macromolecules and subcellular components. (CW)

Whether a planet presents Plate Tectonics or Stagnant Lid convection depends on the rheology of its interior. New laboratoryexperiments using colloidal dispersions (i.e. brittle to ductile behavior) show a large diversity of convective regimes.

Assesses the introduction of a computer-laboratoryexperience using a popular statistical package into a behavioral-science statistics class required of all sociology, psychology, and business-administration majors at a liberal arts college. Indicates that the laboratory did not improve student comprehension or performance, possibly due to poor…

Core concepts can be integrated throughout lower-division science and engineering courses by using a series of related, cross-referenced laboratoryexperiments. Starting with butane combustion in chemistry, we expanded the underlying core concepts of energy transfer into laboratories designed for biology, physics, and engineering.

Core concepts can be integrated throughout lower-division science and engineering courses by using a series of related, cross-referenced laboratoryexperiments. Starting with butane combustion in chemistry, the authors expanded the underlying core concepts of energy transfer into laboratories designed for biology, physics, and engineering. This…

Discusses the demand for distance education opportunities in engineering and science and considers delivery methods for theoretical content and for laboratory work. Explains the Real-Time Internet Mediated LaboratoryExperiments (RTIMLE) that use the World Wide Web, and suggests that RTIMLE may be most appropriate for students who already have…

This experiment describes the synthesis of gentisyl quinone isovalerate, or blattellaquinone, a sex pheromone of the German cockroach that was isolated and identified in 2005. The synthesis is appropriate for the second semester of a second-year organic chemistry laboratory course. It can be completed in two, three-hour laboratory periods and uses…

Cryptosporidium is one of the most common enteric parasites of humans and domestic animals, and a number of outbreaks of Cryprosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease caused by Cryptosporidium have been reported worldwide. Natural porous media has been demonstrated to be an effective filter for removing Cryptosporidium parvum from contaminated water and the amount of Cryptosporidium filtered is known to be highly dependent on physical and chemical conditions of the porous media and the water. Cryptosporidium deposition in saturated porous media involves two main steps: approach and attachment. In contrast to the approach mechanisms, attachment processes have not been systematically described to predict a priori because theories that represent attachment behavior (colloid stability) such as DLVO are insufficient to explain experimental data. For this reason, attachment efficiency is calculated based on empirical data, typically experimental breakthrough curves in laboratory columns or field experiments. In this study, collision (attachment) efficiencies (?) of C. parvum oocyst were calculated to test the effect of chemical property changes on the association of oocysts with sand grains. The breakthrough curve data obtained from twelve column experiments and three models were employed to calculate single collector efficiency (?) and ?. The first ten experiments were conducted by changing ionic strength and pH, and mixing with natural sediments under the same physical properties (same ?). Our experiment results show that iron coating or clay/suspended solids mixture drastically enhanced oocyst deposition. The experiments also showed that increase in ionic strength and decrease in pH enhanced the attachment efficiency. However, the experiment with 100mM NaCl resulted in low attachment efficiency and the experiment with pH 8.5 showed similar attachment efficiency to the one at pH 7. Based on the results from two additional experiments with different flow velocities, it appears that attachment efficiency changes when the flow velocity changes, which contradicts CFT. The results prove that predicting attachment efficiency of C. parvum oocyst using ionic strength or pH is inappropriate when non-DLVO interactions are involved. A review of our results and comparison to existing data shows that it is challenging to accurately predict the attachment efficiency using single peak value of breakthrough curve data from geochemical information of porous media.

The Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2) Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) polymers were exposed to the environment of low Earth orbit (LEO) for 3.95 years from 2001 to 2005. There were 41 different PEACE polymers, which were flown on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) in order to determine their atomic oxygen erosion yields. In LEO, atomic oxygen is an environmental durability threat, particularly for long duration mission exposures. Although spaceflight experiments, such as the MISSE 2 PEACE experiment, are ideal for determining LEO environmental durability of spacecraft materials, ground-laboratory testing is often relied upon for durability evaluation and prediction. Unfortunately, significant differences exist between LEO atomic oxygen exposure and atomic oxygen exposure in ground-laboratory facilities. These differences include variations in species, energies, thermal exposures and radiation exposures, all of which may result in different reactions and erosion rates. In an effort to improve the accuracy of ground-based durability testing, ground-laboratory to in-space atomic oxygen correlation experiments have been conducted. In these tests, the atomic oxygen erosion yields of the PEACE polymers were determined relative to Kapton H using a radio-frequency (RF) plasma asher (operated on air). The asher erosion yields were compared to the MISSE 2 PEACE erosion yields to determine the correlation between erosion rates in the two environments. This paper provides a summary of the MISSE 2 PEACE experiment; it reviews the specific polymers tested as well as the techniques used to determine erosion yield in the asher, and it provides a correlation between the space and ground laboratory erosion yield values. Using the PEACE polymers asher to in-space erosion yield ratios will allow more accurate in-space materials performance predictions to be made based on plasma asher durability evaluation.

The Spacecraft Control LaboratoryExperiment (SCOLE) configuration is used to compare exact and approximate solutions of the partial differential equations which define its structural dynamics. The need for a proof model for evaluating competing control laws demands that solutions be generated which not only exhibit accurate modal characteristics, but precise static deflections as well. Because precise pointing is required, the motion of the end bodies of the Shuttle-attached antenna must be known with great accuracy. Modal models are attractive because of their stable solutions but require hundreds of modes to obtain a static deflection accuracy of only one percent. Although proportional damping in bending agrees well with experimental results using the SCOLE experimental apparatus, modes which involve both torsion and bending differ significantly from proportional damping. A lumped mass model is used to generate exact static deflections, but only approximate modal characteristics. Asymptotic solutions to the distributed parameter system approximate very accurately the modal characteristics at high mode numbers. Ways are examined for refining the approximate solutions by applying a first-order variation and by employing singular perturbation techniques which are usually limited to ordinary differential equations. The most accurate solutions of the distributed parameter model of SCOLE are obtained by combining exact and asymptotic solutions.

The design of a laboratory Stirling cycle machine is described. Emphasis is given to the rather unorthodox design concept, which encompasses a two piston ''alpha'' configuration, ''Ross'' linkage drive mechanism, pressurised crankcase and a pressure balanced crankshaft gas seal. The special problems posed in the stressing of the pressurised components and drive system are discussed, as is the piston motion and the balancing of the mechanism. Finally some initial tests with the machine are described, in which air was used as the working fluid at a mean pressure of 1 bar.

The Z facility at the Sandia National Laboratories is the most energetic terrestrial source of X-rays and provides an opportunity to produce photoionized plasmas in a relatively well characterised radiation environment. We use detailed atomic-kinetic and spectral simulations to analyze the absorption spectra of a photoionized neon plasma driven by the x-ray flux from a z-pinch. The broadband x-ray flux both photoionizes and backlights the plasma. In particular, we focus on extracting the charge state distribution of the plasma and the characteristics of the radiation field driving the plasma in order to estimate the ionisation parameter.

An evaluation of the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted clay liner was conducted on an extensively instrumented field-scale research facility. Infiltration and seepage were measured at 250 evenly spaced points. patial variability of soil, water content, and density was high ev...

Laboratory column experiments are suitable to investigate the sediment water interaction and to study the transport behaviour of solutes. Processes like retardation and degradation can be identified and quantified. The conductedexperiment, which is closely connected to a field study in Luxembourg, investigated the transport behaviour of selected pharmaceutical compounds and their redox-dependent metabolism under water saturated conditions. Fine-grained natural sediment with a low hydraulic conductivity from a study site in Luxembourg was filled into the column. The water for the experiment was taken from a small stream at the same fieldsite. It was spiked with four pharmaceutical compounds (carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, sulfamethoxazole) with concentrations between 170 and 300 ng/L for the different substances. The chosen pharmaceuticals were also detected in groundwater and surface water samples at the study site and used to qualify exchange/mixing of surface water and groundwater (BANZHAF et al., 2011). As some of the substances are known to exhibit redox-sensitive degradation, the redox-conditions were systematically varied throughout the experiment. This was realised by adding nitrate at the inflow of the column. During the experiment, which lasted for 2.5 months, four different nitrate concentrations (20-130 mg/L) were applied, beginning with the highest concentration. During the experiment water from the reservoir tank was sampled daily in order to detect a potential degradation of the pharmaceutical compounds before they enter the column. The effluent water was sampled every three hours to guarantee a maximum resolution for the analysis of the pharmaceuticals where necessary. In addition, major ions were analysed in the influent and effluent samples. Throughout the experiment physicochemical parameters (oxidation reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, and pH-value) were measured and logged at the outflow of the column. At the beginning, the ORP was positive (200 mV) and then dropped continuously. Negative values were reached after 1 month and at the end of the experiment -300 mV were measured. Apart from nitrate and nitrite no significant changes in ion concentrations were detected in the effluent. However, the added pharmaceuticals showed very different behaviour in the column. Diclofenac and especially carbamazepine were highly absorbed by the sediment. They were detected significantly later at the outflow of the column than sulfamethoxazole and ibuprofen. Sulfamethoxazole was heavily influenced by the redox-conditions. Its time variation curve in the effluent is negatively correlated with nitrite and nitrate: during nitrite formation the concentrations of sulfamethoxazole dropped considerably. The presented experiment yields a better understanding of the processes influencing the occurrence and transport behaviour of the studied compounds. In addition, some general findings on redox-dependent transport behaviour and metabolism of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole are gained. This emphasizes the role of the ORP as a key parameter for the behaviour of this compound, which has to be considered. BANZHAF, S., KREIN, A. & SCHEYTT, T. (2011). Investigative approaches to determine exchange processes in the hyporheic zone of a low permeability riverbank. Hydrogeology Journal 19 (3), pp. 591-601.

A hydrostatic primitive equation model, the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), has been adapted for studies of three-dimensional wave-averaged circulation in the nearshore surf zone. The model is applied here to studies of the generation and instablilities of rip currents forced by waves normal to a beach with an alongshore bar interrupted by rip channels. The rip-current system modeled is that generated in the Directional Wave Basin located in the Ocean Engineering Laboratory at the University of Delaware. POM has been modified for application to nearshore flows by incorporating forcing from gradients in the radiation stress tensor and by including the effects of wave-induced mass flux through appropriate boundary conditions on the vertical velocity at the surface. The wave-driver REF/DIF (Kirby and Dalrymple, 1983) has been embedded as a subroutine of nearshore POM so that modification of the forcing by wave-current interaction can be included. The model results are compared with laboratory measurements of currents and surface elevation (Haller and Dalrymple, 1999; Haas and Svendsen, 2002). Instantaneous and time-mean momentum balances of both the three-dimensional and depth-averaged flows are calculated. Emphasis is placed on the variations of the currents with depth. The sensitivity of the rip current system to changes in the strength of the forcing and to details of the topography is examined.

This paper applies electromagnetic sounding methods for Earth's mantle to constrain its thermal state, chemical composition, and "water" content. We consider long-period inductive response functions in the form of C-responses from four stations distributed across the Earth (Europe, North America, Asia and Australia) covering a period range from 3.9 to 95.2 days and sensitivity to ~ 1200 km depth. We invert C-responses directly for thermo-chemical state using a self-consistent thermodynamic method that computes phase equilibria as functions of pressure, temperature, and composition (in the Na2O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 model system). Computed mineral modes are combined with recent laboratory-based electrical conductivity models from independent experimental research groups (Yoshino (2010) and Karato (2011)) to compute bulk conductivity structure beneath each of the four stations from which C-responses are estimated. To reliably allocate water between the various mineral phases we include laboratory-measured water partition coefficients for major upper mantle and transition zone minerals. This scheme is interfaced with a sampling-based algorithm to solve the resulting non-linear inverse problem. This approach has two advantages: (1) It anchors temperatures, composition, electrical conductivities, and discontinuities that are in laboratory-based forward models, and (2) At the same time it permits the use of geophysical inverse methods to optimize conductivity profiles to match geophysical data. The results show lateral variations in upper mantle temperatures beneath the four stations that appear to persist throughout the upper mantle and parts of the transition zone. Calculated mantle temperatures at 410 and 660 km depth lie in the range 1250-1650 °C and 1500-1750 °C, respectively, and generally agree with the experimentally-determined temperatures at which the measured phase reactions olivine ? ?-spinel and ?-spinel ? ferropericlase + perovskite occur. The retrieved conductivity structures beneath the various stations tend to follow trends observed for temperature with the strongest lateral variations in the uppermost mantle; for depths > 300 km conductivities appear to depend less on the particular conductivity database. Conductivities at 410 km and at 660 km depth are found to agree overall with purely geophysically-derived global and semi-global one-dimensional conductivity models. Both electrical conductivity databases point to < 0.01 wt.% H2O in the upper mantle. For transition zone minerals results from the laboratory database of Yoshino (2010) suggest that a much higher water content (up to 2 wt.% H2O) is required than in the other database (Karato, 2011), which favors a relatively "dry" transition zone (< 0.01 wt.% H2O). Incorporating laboratory measurements of hydrous silicate melting relations and available conductivity data allows us to consider the possibility of hydration melting and a high-conductivity melt layer above the 410-km discontinuity. The latter appears to be 1) regionally localized and 2) principally a feature from the Yoshino (2010) database. Further, there is evidence of lateral heterogeneity: The mantle beneath southwestern North America and central China appears "wetter" than that beneath central Europe or Australia.

This Technical Progress Report summarizes activities conducted over the period 8\\/16\\/96-2\\/15\\/97 as part of this project. This investigation responds to the possibility that restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions may be imposed in the future to comply with the Framework Convention on Climate Change. The primary objective of the investigation is to obtain experimental data that can be applied to assess

Despite significant effort, understanding the causes and mechanisms of complex non-Mendelian diseases remains a key challenge.\\u000a Although numerous molecular genetic linkage and association studies have been conducted in order to explain the heritable\\u000a predisposition to complex diseases, the resulting data are quite often inconsistent and even controversial. In a similar way,\\u000a identification of environmental factors causal to a disease is

Graphitization of less-ordered hexagonal carbon was studied under in-situ pressure and temperature conditions on anthracite, black shale and a synthetic calcite/anthracite mixture at upper greenschist facies conditions. Anthracite exhibited a continuous loss of volatiles in the temperature range from 100 °C up to 850 °C (9.9 weight per cent at 450 °C) as detected by Differential-Thermal-Analysis (DTA) and Thermo-Gravimetry (TG). Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX) revealed a broad amorphous 002 graphite reflection while after p, T-treatment nearly perfect crystallized graphitic carbon was detected. The electrical conductivity was measured at the same time in the frequency range from 0.7 up to 100 kHz. As a function of time the bulk resistivity was decreased by about three orders in magnitude at constant pressure and temperature conditions (0.7 GPa, 450 °C), while the complex response exhibited a continuous decrease of the imaginary part of the impedance. `Quasi-metallic' conduction now dominated the charge transport. Application of pressure, strain, temperature and time caused an increase in ordering and the degree of interconnection of the formerly randomly oriented carbon sheets. The experimental results are an approach towards the explanation of the abundant occurrence of crystalline graphite observed in overthrusts and nappe structures, which are distinguished by high-conductivity structures.

Discusses a simplified Millikan oil-drop experiment which emphasizes the enplanation of basic concepts in mechanics and electrostatics, the use of home-made apparatus, the request for an individual's observation of his own drop, and the application of statistical analysis in data interpretation. (CC)

Describes an interesting, inexpensive, and highly motivating experiment to study uniform and accelerated motion by measuring the position of a car as it crashes into a rigid wall. Data are obtained from a sequence of pictures made by a high speed camera. (Author/SLH)

A simple experiment is described that permits advanced undergraduates to learn the principles and applications of the cavity ring down spectroscopy technique. The apparatus is used for measurements of low concentrations of NO[subscript 2] produced in air by an electric discharge. We present the setup, experimental procedure, data analysis and some…

The continuous growth of computer and sensor technology allows many researchers to develop simple modifications and/or refinements to standard educational experiments, making them more attractive and comprehensible to students and thus increasing their educational impact. In the framework of this approach, the present study proposes an alternative…

An experiment is described that illustrates how chemical engineering correlations are created. Balls of different diameters and different specific gravities (all less than one) are dropped from several heights into a pool of water, and the maximum depth reached by the ball is measured. This data is used to estimate the coefficients for a…

The Georgia Intern-Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) is a collaborative effort designed to enhance mathematics and science experiences of Georgia teachers and their students through summer research internships for teachers. By offering business, industry, public science institute and research summer fellowships to teachers, GIFT provides educators with first-hand exposure to the skills and knowledge necessary for the preparation of our future

Estimates of overall melt content beneath mid-ocean ridges inferred from magnetotelluric tomography (MT) studies vary widely between 1 and 10 vol. %. Much of this variation may arise from a lack of understanding about how melt geometry influences the bulk electrical conductivity of partially molten mantle rock, especially at low melt fraction. We present results from experiments in which we numerically calculate the electrical conductivity and permeability using high-resolution, three-dimensional melt geometries of olivine-basalt systems obtained via synchrotron X-ray microtomography (SX?T). Starting materials consist of San Carlos olivine and Fo90 basalt mixed in various proportions to achieve nominal melt fraction of 0.02 to 0.20 when melted. Samples were prepared by isostatically pressing samples at 1.5GPa and 1350°C for a minimum of 1 week (Zhu et al., 2011; Science) and then quenched, turning the melt to basaltic glass. Samples were imaged using SX?T at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Labs to obtain three-dimensional, 700 nm-per-pixel digital reconstructions. Grayscale data was segmented using Avizo® software (Miller et al., 2014; EPSL), and binary images were used as computational domains in numerical experiments to determine bulk electrical conductivity and permeability. Numerical experiments were carried out on several statistically representative subvolumes per sample using finite difference techniques. Olivine and melt are treated as conductive and insulative phases, respectively. To calculate conductivity, Laplace's equation is solved for the electric potential, assuming zero electric flux across phase boundaries. Ohm's Law yields the bulk conductivity of the sample. To calculate permeability, Stokes' equations are solved using the artificial compressibility method on a staggered grid. Darcy's law then gives the permeability of the subvolume. We fit permeability and electrical conductivity values to power laws in order to establish empirical relationships with melt fraction. We compare with experimental studies. By linking permeability and electrical conductivity to melt content, we are able to better guide interpretations of geophysical data and constrain melt connectivity and transport at mid-ocean ridges.

The results of a l6-month field and l6-month meso-scale laboratory investigation of unconsolidated sandy environments contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons that are undergoing natural biodegradation is presented. The purpose was to understand the processes responsible for causin...

This manual is designed for use by instructors who will have to teach others the basic laboratory skills needed to perform National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Analyses. It includes topics related to the presentation of training courses in which the NPDES analyses would be taught. These topics include: examples of course…

The electrical conductivities of two silicate perovskites and a perovskite-magnesiowuestite assemblage, all having an atomic ratio of Mg to Fe equal to 0.88/0.12, have been measured with alternating current and direct current (dc) techniques at simultaneously high pressures and temperatures. Measurements up to pressures of 80 GPa and temperatures of 3500 K, using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, demonstrate that the electrical conductivity of these materials remains below 10-3 S/m at lower mantle conditions. The activation energies for electrical conduction are between 0.1 and 0.4 eV from the data, and the conduction in these perovskites is ascribed to an extrinsic electronic process. The new measurements are in agreement with a bound that was previously obtained from dc measurements for the high-PT conductivity of perovskite-dominated assemblages. The results show that the electrical conductivity of (Mg/0.88/Fe/0.12)SiO3 perovskite differs significantly from that of the earth's deep mantle, as inferred from geophysical observations.

In order to adequately and efficiently handle outbreaks of contagious diseases such as classical swine fever (CSF), foot and mouth disease or highly pathogenic avian influenza, competent authorities and the laboratories involved have to be well prepared and must be in possession of functioning contingency plans. These plans should ensure that in the event of an outbreak access to facilities, equipment, resources, trained personnel, and all other facilities needed for the rapid and efficient eradication of the outbreak is guaranteed, and that the procedures to follow are well rehearsed. It is essential that these plans are established during 'peace-time' and are reviewed regularly. This paper provides suggestions on how to perform laboratory exercises to test preparedness and describes the experiences of two national reference laboratories for CSF. The major lesson learnt was the importance of a well-documented laboratory contingency plan. The major pitfalls encountered were shortage of space, difficulties in guaranteeing biosecurity and sufficient supplies of sterile equipment and consumables. The need for a standardised laboratory information management system, that is used by all those involved in order to reduce the administrative load, is also discussed. PMID:18293611

It is well-known that electric dipole moment (EDM) constraints provide the most stringent bounds on axion-mediated macroscopic spin-dependent (SD) and time reversal and parity violating (TVPV) forces. These bounds are several orders of magnitude stronger than those arising from direct searches in fifth-force experiments and combining astrophysical bounds on stellar energy loss with Eotvos tests of the weak equivalence principle (WEP). This is a consequence of the specific properties of the axion, invoked to solve the Strong CP problem. However, the situation is quite different for generic light scalars that are unrelated to the strong CP problem. In this case, bounds from fifth-force experiments and astrophysical processes are far more stringent than the EDM bounds, for the mass range explored in direct searches.

The USDA-Agricultural Research Service has led, or been integrally involved in, a myriad of interdisciplinary field campaigns in a wide range of locations both nationally and internationally. Many of the shorter campaigns were anchored over the existing national network of ARS Experimental Watersheds and Rangelands. These long-term outdoor laboratories provided a critical knowledge base for designing the campaigns as well as historical data, hydrologic and meteorological infrastructure coupled with shop, laboratory, and visiting scientist facilities. This strong outdoor laboratory base enabled cost-efficient campaigns informed by historical context, local knowledge, and detailed existing watershed characterization. These long-term experimental facilities have also enabled much longer term lower intensity experiments, observing and building an understanding of both seasonal and inter-annual biosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere interactions across a wide range of conditions. A sampling of these experiments include MONSOON'90, SGP97, SGP99, Washita'92, Washita'94, SMEX02-05 and JORNEX series of experiments, SALSA, CLASIC and longer-term efforts over the ARS Little Washita, Walnut Gulch, Little River, Reynolds Creek, and OPE3 Experimental Watersheds. This presentation will review some of the highlights and key findings of these campaigns and long-term efforts including the inclusion of many of the experimental watersheds and ranges in the Long-Term Agro-ecosystems Research (LTAR) network. The LTAR network also contains several locations that are also part of other observational networks including the CZO, LTER, and NEON networks. Lessons learned will also be provided for scientists initiating their participation in large-scale, multi-site interdisciplinary science.

Rockfalls, debris flows and rock avalanches represent a major natural hazard for the population in mountainous, volcanic and coastal areas but their direct observation on the field is very dangerous. Recent studies showed that gravitational instabilities can be detected and characterized (volume, duration,...) thanks to the seismic signal they generate. In an avalanche, individual block bouncing and rolling on the ground are expected to generated signals of higher frequencies than the main flow spreading. The identification of the time/frequency signature of individual blocks in the recorded signal remains however difficult. Laboratoryexperiments were conducted to investigate the acoustic signature of diverse simple sources corresponding to grains falling over thin plates of plexiglas and glass and over rock blocks. The elastic energy emitted by a single bouncing bead into the support was first quantitatively estimated and compared to the potential energy of fall and to the potential energy change during the shock. We obtained simple scaling laws relating the impactor characteristics (size, height of fall, material,...) to the elastic energy and spectral content. Next, we consider the collapse of granular columns made of steel spherical beads onto hard substrates. Initially, these columns were held by a magnetic field allowing to suppress suddenly the cohesion between the beads, and thus to minimize friction effects that would arise from side walls. We varied systematically the column volume, the column aspect ratio (height over length) and the grain size. This is shown to affect the signal envelope and frequency content. In the experiments, accelerometers (1 Hz to 56 kHz) were used to record the signals in a wide frequency range. The experiments were also monitored optically using fast cameras. Eventually, we looked at what types of features in the signal are affected by individual impacts, rolling of beads or by the large scale geometry of the avalanche.

Describes a student laboratory project involving the design of an "acoustic suspension speaker system. The characteristics of the loudspeaker used are measured as an extension of the inertia-balance experiment. The experiment may be extended to a study of Stelmholtz resonators, coupled oscillators, electromagnetic forces, thermodynamics and…

Describes an undergraduate organic laboratoryexperiment involving the separation of an unknown solid organic acid and an unknown solid organic base. The experiment is designed to present the student with an unexpected difficulty, namely, the formation of a separable viscous liquid, to see how the student handles this difficulty. (MLH)

An enzymatic laboratoryexperiment based on the analysis of serum is described that is suitable for students of clinical chemistry. The experiment incorporates an introduction to mathematical method-comparison techniques in which three different clinical glucose analysis methods are compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman difference…

Cross-disciplinary (CD) learning experiences benefit student understanding of concepts and curriculum by offering opportunities to explore topics from the perspectives of alternate fields of study. This report involves a qualitative evaluation of CD health sciences undergraduate laboratoryexperiences in which concepts and students from two…

experimental details (e.g., species, sex, age, microbiological status, strain and source of animalsGuidelines for the Design and Statistical Analysis of Experiments Using Laboratory Animals Michael to design animal experiments well, to analyze the data correctly, and to use the minimum number of animals

A simple multiday laboratory exercise suitable for use in a high school or community college chemistry course or a biotechnology advanced placement biology course is described. In this experiment students gain experience in the use of column chromatography as a tool for the separation and characterization of biomolecules, thus expanding their…

A comprehensive survey on the Internet based virtualisation of experiments is presented, covering several individual as well as collaborative efforts in various engineering disciplines. From this survey it could be concluded that there is a pressing need to develop full-fledged remote laboratoryexperiments for integrated directly into engineering…

We investigated a formation pathway of pristane (Pr) and phytane (Ph) in crude oils and ancient sediments from the phytyl side chain of chlorophyll and degradation of Pr and Ph during thermal maturation by laboratory heating experiments of pure dihydrophytol (DHP), Pr and Ph, followed by measurement of carbon isotopic compositions. In the first heating experiment, dihydrophytol (DHP) was pyrolyzed

A simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly undergraduate laboratoryexperiment is described in which students use visible spectroscopy to determine a numerical value for an equilibrium constant, K[subscript c]. The experiment correlates well with the lecture topic of equilibrium even though the subject of the study is an acid-base…

A series of laboratoryexperiments were carried out to test the potential of vegetable oil biodiesel for the cleaning of oiled shorelines. In batch experiments, biodiesel was shown to have a considerable capacity to dissolve crude oil, which appears to be dependent on the type of biodiesel used. Pure vegetable oil biodiesels (rapeseed and soybean) were significantly more effective in

Laboratory-based learning allows students to experience bioscience principles first hand. In our experience, practical content and equipment may have changed over time, but teaching methods largely remain the same, typically involving; whole class introduction with a demonstration, students emulating the demonstration in small groups, gathering…

Project Chemlab was designed to prepare an "Annotated List of LaboratoryExperiments in Chemistry from the Journal of Chemical Education (1957-1979)" and to develop a computer file and program to search for specific types of experiments. Provided in this document are listings (photoreduced copies of printouts) of over 1500 entries classified into…

We developed a modular pair of experiments for use in the undergraduate physical chemistry and biochemistry laboratories. Both experiments examine the thermodynamics of the binding of a small molecule, eosin Y, to the protein lysozyme. The assay for binding is the quenching of lysozyme fluorescence by eosin through resonant energy transfer. In…

A computational experiment investigating the [superscript 1]H and [superscript 13]C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of molecules with unpaired electrons has been developed and implemented. This experiment is appropriate for an upper-level undergraduate laboratory course in computational, physical, or inorganic chemistry. The…

Explains some experiments involving thermal methods of analysis for undergraduate chemistry laboratories. Some experiments are: (1) the determination of the density and degree of crystallinity of a polymer; and (2) the determination of the specific heat of a nonvolatile compound. (HM)

The Source Physics Experiment program, conducted in Climax Stock Granite at the Nevada Test Site, will provide ground truth data to create and improve strong ground motion and seismic S-wave generation and propagation models. Modeling using advanced simulation codes will be performed both a priori and after each experiment; a key component in the predictive capability and ultimate validation of the models is the full understanding of the intervening geology between the source and instrumented bore holes including the geomechanical behavior of the site rock/structural features. Mechanical properties determined via laboratory testing of site rocks leads to the parameterization of constitutive models used in the simulations. The combined finite-discrete element method by Munjiza is an excellent tool to address a wide range of problems involving fracturing and fragmentation of solids and has been applied to many complex rock mechanics problems such as block caving, deep mining techniques, rock blasting, and seismic wave propagation. Since most of the problems involving fracture and fragmentation of solids are three dimensional, an improved 2D/3D FEM/DEM capability has been developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this paper, Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar experiments, performed on the Climax Stock Granite by Sandia National Laboratories, are simulated using this improved 2D/3D FEM/DEM approach, implemented on LANL's MUNROU (Munjiza-Rougier) code and show excellent agreement.

The authors report on recent experiments using a magnetic chicane compressor at 8 MeV. Electron bunches at both low (0.1 nC) and high (1 nC) charges were compressed from 20 ps to less than 1 ps (FWHM). A transverse deflecting rf cavity was used to measure the bunch length at low charge; the bunch length at high charge was inferred from an induced energy spread of the beam. The longitudinal centrifugal-space charge force is calculated using a point-to-point numerical simulation and is shown not to influence the energy-spread measurement.

The emplacement of liquids under controlled viscosity conditions is investigated by means of numerical simulations. Design calculations are performed for a laboratoryexperiment on a decimeter scale, and a field experiment on a meter scale. The purpose of the laboratoryexperiment is to study the behavior of multiple gout plumes when injected in a porous medium. The calculations for the field trial aim at designing a grout injection test from a vertical well in order to create a grout plume of a significant extent in the subsurface.

Despite frequent reference to Newton's law of cooling in physics and math books, the paper in which Newton reported this law is quite obscure and rarely cited. We have managed to acquire a copy of this paper and discuss the interesting experiment that Newton did in his kitchen. Surprisingly, the paper contains no procedural details or data of any experiments measuring the rate at which a hot object cools. We have performed our own kitchen experiments to investigate the cooling of (a) the burner of an electric range and (b) a block of Styrofoam. Newton's law provides a poor model for both systems, whose th! ! ermal energy loss we can much better understand by examining closely the effects of radiation and conduction.

An undergraduate laboratory based on a functionally complete set of virtual tools for laboratoryexperimenting is described in the paper. An outstanding feature of the experimenting environment is an easy-to-use, graphical user interface to a laboratoryexperiment. If significantly shortens the time needed to implement experimenter-defined laboratory procedures and eliminates the need for high-level-language programming on the experimenter side. Taking

Inspired by earlier work (Reznichenko et al., 2010), we have carried out experiments within a climate chamber to explore the best ways to measure the heat and moisture fluxes through supraglacial debris. Sample ice blocks were prepared with debris cover of varying lithology, grain size and thickness and were instrumented with a combination of Gemini TinyTag temperature/relative humidity sensors and Decagon soil moisture sensors in order to monitor the heat and moisture fluxes through the overlying debris material when the experiment is exposed to specified solar lamp radiation and laminar airflow within the temperature-controlled climate chamber. Experimental results can be used to determine the optimal set up for numerical models of heat and moisture flux through supraglacial debris and also indicate the performance limitations of such sensors that can be expected in field installations. Reznichenko, N., Davies, T., Shulmeister, J. and McSaveney, M. (2010) Effects of debris on ice-surface melting rates: an experimental study. Journal of Glaciology, Volume 56, Number 197, 384-394.

The electromagnetic techniques (EM) are based on the investigation of subsoil geophysical parameters and in the archaeological framework they involve in studying contrasts between the buried cultural structures and the surrounding materials. Unfortunately, the geophysical contrast between archaeological features and surrounding soils sometimes are difficult to define due to problems of sensitivity and resolution both related on the characteristic of the subsoil and the geophysical methods. For this reason an experimental activity has been performed in the Hydrogeosite laboratory addressed on the assessment of the capability of geophysical techniques to detect archeological remains placed in the humid/saturated subsoil. At Hydrogeosite Laboratory of CNR-IMAA, a large scale sand-box is located, consisting on a pool shape structures of 230m3 where archaeological remains have been installed . The remains are relative to a living environment and burial of Roman times (walls, tombs, roads, harbour, etc.) covered by sediments. In order to simulate lacustrine and wetland condition and to simulate extreme events (for example underwater landslide, fast natural erosion coast, etc.) the phreatic level was varied and various acquisitions for the different scenarios were performed. In order to analyze the EM behavior of the buried small archaeological framework, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomographies were performed. With GPR, analysis in time domain and frequency domain were performed and coupled to information obtained through resistivity analysis with the support of numerical simulations used to compare the real data with those modeled. A dense grid was adopted for 400 and 900 MHz e-m acquisitions in both the directions, the maximum depth of investigation was limited and less than 3 meters. The same approach was used for ERT acquisition where different array are employed, in particular 3D configuration was used to carry out a 3D resistivity model. The integration of electric and electromagnetic data allowed us to overcome the limits of each technique, especially in terms of resolution and depth, in humid/saturated conditions was investigated and the effectiveness of three-dimensional acquisitions was studied to better explore archeological sites and reduce the uncertainties related on the interpretation of geophysical analysis. The complexity of the relationship between archaeological features in the subsoil and their geophysical response requires efforts in the interpretation of resulting data. Reference Campana S. and Piro, S., (2009): Seeing the unseen - Geophysics and landscape archaeology., CRC Press, London, 2. No. of pages: 376. ISBN: 978-0-415-44721-8. Conyers, L. and Goodman, D., (1997): Ground-Penetrating Radar: An Introduction for Archaeologists. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press. Davis, J.L. and Annan, A.P. (1989): Ground-penetrating radar for high-resolution mapping of soil and rock stratigraphy. Geophysical Prospecting, 37, 531-551.

Several relevant hydrological processes (e.g. runoff, sediment transport, soil moisture) were investigated in laboratory to evaluate the effectiveness of distinct rice straw mulching densities on reducing soil degradation and conserving soil water. Mulching cover has been used as a common management practice to improve water use efficiency and soil conservation in agricultural lands of semiarid regions characterized by irregular storm patterns with intense and short rainfall events. Soil degradation and nutrient losses are a main threat for agricultural lands, reducing soil fertility, land productivity and eventually leading to the unsustainability of agricultural production systems. Laboratoryexperiments were conducted using a free drainage rectangular soil flume (3.0 × 0.3 m2) with a sandy loam soil from the right bank of Mondego River, in Coimbra (Portugal) and three soil surface conditions: 1) bare soil; 2) low mulching cover with 2 ton/ha density; and 3) high mulching cover with 4 ton/ha density. A steady single downward-oriented full-cone nozzle was used to simulate several rainfall events with different intensities and patterns in an intermittent way. A set of infrared bulbs placed above the soil flume were used to enhance evaporation between two successive rainfall events. The results clearly show that rice straw mulching and the characteristics of the rainfall events strongly affected infiltration, surface runoff and erosion. High mulching cover condition stabilized soil temperature better than the bare soil condition and increased significantly soil moisture. Mulching has conferred protection to the superficial layer of the soil, reducing the formation of rills and the transport of sediments, leading to the reduction of the degradation processes.

This presentation discusses experiments well scaled to the blast wave driven instabilities at the He/H interface during the explosion phase of SN1987A. This core-collapse supernova was detected about 50 kpc from Earth making it the first supernova observed so closely to earth in modern times. The progenitor star was a blue supergiant with a mass of 18-20 solar masses. A blast wave occurred following the supernova explosion because there was a sudden, finite release of energy. Blast waves consist of a shock front followed by a rarefaction wave. When a blast wave crosses an interface with a decrease in density, hydrodynamic instabilities will develop. These experiments include target materials scaled in density to the He/H layer in SN1987A. About 5 kJ of laser energy from the Omega Laser facility irradiates a 150 µm plastic layer that is followed by a low-density foam layer. A blast wave structure similar to those in supernovae is created in the plastic layer. The blast wave crosses a three-dimensional interface with a wavelength of 71 µm in two orthogonal directions. This produces unstable growth dominated by the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability. We have detected the interface structure under these conditions, using dual orthogonal radiography, and will show some of the resulting data. Recent advancements in our x-ray backlighting techniques have greatly improved the resolution of our x-ray radiographic images. Under certain conditions, the improved images show some mass extending beyond the RT spike and penetrating further than previously observed. Current simulations do not show this phenomenon. This presentation will discuss the amount of mass in these spike extensions. Recent results from an experiment using more realistic initial conditions based on stellar evolution models will also be shown. This research was sponsored by the Stewardship Science Academic Alliance through DOE Research Grants DE-FG52-07NA28058, DE-FG52-04NA00064.

Recently, a requirement for directed responsible conduct in research (RCR) education has become a priority in the United States and elsewhere. In the US, both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation require RCR education for all students who are financially supported by federal awards. The guidelines produced by these…

Discharge experiments were carried out at the Technical University of Eindhoven in 2013. The experimental set-up was designed to search for electrons produced in meter-scale sparks using a 1 MV Marx generator. Negative voltage was applied to the HV electrode. Five thin (1 mm) plastic detectors (5 cm2 each) were distributed in various configurations close to the spark gap. Earlier studies have shown (for HV negative) that X-rays are produced when a cloud of streamers has developed 30-60 cm from the negative electrode. This indicates that the electrons producing the X-rays are also accelerated in this location, probably in the strong electric field from countestreaming streamers of opposite polarity. Comparing our measurements with modeling results we find that 200-400 keV electrons produced about 30-60 cm from the negative electrode is the most likely source of our measurements.

We report on recent experiments using a magnetic chicane compressor at 8 MeV. Electron bunches at both low (0.1 nC) and high (1 nC) charges were compressed from 10{endash}15 ps to less than 1 ps (FWHM). A transverse deflecting rf cavity was used to measure the bunch length at low charge; the bunch length at high charge was inferred from the induced energy spread of the beam. The longitudinal centrifugal space-charge force [{ital Phys}. {ital Rev}. {ital E} {bold 51}, 1453 (1995)] is calculated using a point-to-point numerical simulation and is shown not to influence the energy-spread measurement. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}

An experimental investigation was conducted using 80 kW and 1.2 MW RF induction heater facilities to aid in developing the technology necessary for designing a self-critical fissioning uranium plasma core reactor. Pure uranium hexafluoride (UF6) was injected into argon-confined, steady-state, RF-heated plasmas in different uranium plasma confinement tests to investigate the characteristics of plamas core nuclear reactors. The objectives were: (1) to confine as high a density of uranium vapor as possible within the plasma while simultaneously minimizing the uranium compound wall deposition; (2) to develop and test materials and handling techniques suitable for use with high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous UF6; and (3) to develop complementary diagnostic instrumentation and measurement techniques to characterize the uranium plasma and residue deposited on the test chamber components. In all tests, the plasma was a fluid-mechanically-confined vortex-type contained within a fused-silica cylindrical test chamber. The test chamber peripheral wall was 5.7 cm ID by 10 cm long.

Western blotting is an important, modern technique for transferring proteins from a gel onto nitrocellulose or other suitable support and then detecting a protein of interest using antibodies. We have developed an experiment and optimized the conditions for the undergraduate laboratory. The experiment can be done quickly using an electrophoretic blotter or more cheaply using passive transfer. This experiment allows the student to learn valuable procedures currently used in biochemistry and other biological sciences.

The AECL, Whiteshell Laboratory (WL) near Pinawa Manitoba, Canada, was established in the early 1960's to carry out AECL research and development activities for higher temperature versions of the CANDU{reg_sign} reactor. The initial focus of the research program was the Whiteshell Reactor-1 (WR-1) Organic Cooled Reactor (OCR) that began operation in 1965. The OCR program was discontinued in the early 1970's in favor of the successful heavy-water-cooled CANDU system. WR-1 continued to operate until 1985 in support of AECL nuclear research programs. A consequence of the Federal government's recent program review process was AECL's business decision to discontinue research programs and operations at the Whiteshell Laboratories and to consolidate its' activities at the Chalk River Laboratories. As a result, AECL received government concurrence in 1998 to proceed to plan actions to achieve closure of WL. The planning actions now in progress address the need to safely and effectively transition the WL site from an operational state, in support of AECL's business, to a shutdown and decommissioned state that meets the regulatory requirements for a licensed nuclear site. The decommissioning program that will be required at WL is unique within AECL and Canada since it will need to address the entire research site rather than individual facilities declared redundant. Accordingly, the site nuclear facilities are being systematically placed in a safe shutdown state and planning for the decommissioning work to place the facilities in a secure monitoring and surveillance state is in progress. One aspect of the shutdown activities is to deal with the legacy of radioactively contaminated organic liquid wastes. Use of a polymer powder to solidify these organic wastes was identified as one possibility for improved interim storage of this material pending final disposition.

The Flight Dynamics Laboratory is committed to an in-house, experimental investigation of several technical areas critical to the dynamic performance of future Air Force large space structures. The advanced beam experiment was successfully completed and provided much experience in the implementation of active control approaches on real hardware. A series of experiments is under way in evaluating ground test methods on the 12 meter trusses with significant passive damping. Ground simulated zero-g response data from the undamped truss will be compared directly with true zero-g flight test data. The performance of several leading active control approaches will be measured and compared on one of the trusses in the presence of significant passive damping. In the future, the PACOSS dynamic test article will be set up as a test bed for the evaluation of system identification and control techniques on a complex, representative structure with high modal density and significant passive damping.

Data produced by laboratory Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm (EPRB) experiments is tested against the hypothesis that the statistics of this data is given by quantum theory of this thought experiment. Statistical evidence is presented that the experimental data, while violating Bell inequalities, does not support this hypothesis. It is shown that an event-based simulation model, providing a cause-and-effect description of real EPRB experiments at a level of detail which is not covered by quantum theory, reproduces the results of quantum theory of this thought experiment, indicating that there is no fundamental obstacle for a real EPRB experiment to produce data that can be described by quantum theory.

On August the 6th, 2014 the Rosetta spacecraft arrived at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and on November the 12th, the Philae probe landed, sending the most detailed close-up pictures, with a few meters resolution, of the surface of the comet. We will present an explanation of the observed surface features on the comet nucleus, as derived from our laboratory experimental results, such as craters, boulders, active areas and smooth terrains, due to ice sublimation and evolution of gases from the interior of the nucleus. A large flux of ice grains was observed to emanate from the central part "the neck" of the nucleus. Our experiments demonstrated that a huge flux of ice grains is ejected together with gas jets from the ice. As the comet approaches the Sun, gases emerge from pockets up to the ice surface quiescently and also accumulate in larger cavities which explode to release gas jets together with a huge amount of micron size ice grains, forming craters and smooth surfaces. Also comparing our experimental results on the density, thermal conductivity and mechanical strength with the in situ results of comet 67P C-G, as done with comet Temple 1 in the Deep Impact mission, will be used for better understanding of the internal properties of the nucleus. The experimental results on gas trapping in the ice and its release upon warming up will be presented and compared with Rosetta's findings. Authors acknowledge the funding from the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

The identification of a unique set of system parameters in large space structures poses a significant new problem in control technology. Presented is an infinite-dimensional identification scheme to determine system parameters in large flexible structures in space. The method retains the distributed nature of the structure throughout the development of the algorithm and a finite-element approximation is used only to implement the algorithm. This approach eliminates many problems associated with model truncation used in other methods of identification. The identification is formulated in Hilbert space and an optimal control technique is used to minimize weighted least squares of error between the actual and the model data. A variational approach is used to solve the problem. A costate equation, gradients of parameter variations and conditions for optimal estimates are obtained. Computer simulation studies are conducted using a shuttle-attached antenna configuration, more popularly known as the Space Control LaboratoryExperiment (SCOLE) as an example. Numerical results show a close match between the estimated and true values of the parameters.

Snow has the fastest sintering rate in geology, compared to any other earth material at similar pressures and temperatures. Due to this, sintering may play a crucial role in post-fracture healing of snowpack weak layers, which are prerequisites of avalanche release. The strength recovery of the latter is of interest for snow avalanche modeling focused on sub-critical weak layer fractures. However, it remains very poorly documented and studied. In this work, our main focus is on the fundamental physical property of simple flat snow interfaces to heal and regain their strength with time through sintering (at time scales up to 23 hours). We conducted a series of well controlled cold laboratoryexperiments (-10°C) with a newly developed shear apparatus and natural snow samples of different densities and grain types. Preliminary results of force-controlled shearing tests at various normal pressures (0-1kPa) showed the healing of snow interfaces, leading to a fast power-law recovery of their strength. The observed power-law dependency (mean exponent ~ 0.2) agrees with several other experimental and theoretical studies, which were based on homogeneous snow and different instrumental methods.

This article aims to demonstrate that molten metal flow at a high temperature can be measured effectively in a contactless manner by using external direct current magnetic fields. The device applied in the present work is termed Lorentz force flowmeter (LFF) and is based on exposing the flow to a magnet system and measuring the drag force acting on it. Two series of measurements are reported. In the first series, we perform a model experiment in the laboratory using the eutectic alloy GaInSn, which is liquid at room temperature. The second series of measurements is devoted to two plant tests on flow measurement of a liquid aluminum alloy. In both tests, the force acting on the magnet system is measured that is equal to the Lorentz force acting on the flow. To generalize our results, we also derive the scaling law that relates the force acting on a localized magnet system to the flow rate of a fluid with arbitrary electrical conductivity. This law shows that LFF, if properly designed, has a wide range of potential applications in ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy.

During or immediately after rainfall many slope failures have been observed. The slope failure occurred due to rainfall infiltration that rapidly increase the pore pressure and trigger the slope failure. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the rainfall-induced slope failure, but the mechanism of slope failure is still not well clarified. To investigate mechanism of rainfall-induced slope failure laboratoryexperiments have been conducted in flume. The slope was prepared with sandy soil in flume with constant inclination of 45°, because most of rainfall-induced slope failure occurred in sandy soil and on steep slope. The hydrological parameters such as pore pressure and moisture content were measured with piezometers and advanced Imko TDRs respectively. The slope failure occurred due to increase in moisture content and rise in pore pressure. During the flowslide type of slope failure the sudden increase in pore pressure was observed. The higher moisture content and pore pressure was at the toe of the slope. The pore pressure was higher at the toe of the slope and smaller at the upper part of the slope. After the saturation the run-off was observed at the toe of the slope that erodes the toe and forming the gullies from toe to upper part of the slope. In the case antecedent moisture conditions the moisture content and the pore pressure increased quickly and producing the surface runoff at the horizontal part of the slope. The slope having less density suffer from flowslide type of the failure, however in dense slope no major failure was occurred even at higher rainfall intensity. The antecedent moisture accompanied with high rainfall intensity also not favors the initiation of flowslide in case of dense slope. The flowslide type of failure can be avoided by controlling the density of soil slope. Knowing such parameters that controls the large mass movement helpful in developing the early warning system for flowslide type of failure.

This is a descriptive study of a series of laboratory exercises on environmental microbiology carried out by students in a general microbiology course during eight of the twelve weeks of the semester. The revised laboratory component is predicated upon seawater and sediment samples collected by student pairs using marine sampling equipment on a field trip aboard a research vessel. Two longitudinal studies were performed: assay for antibiotic production from isolated actinomycetes and construction and observation of Winogradsky columns. Two additional experiments: culturing microalgae and water testing for coliforms also used the samples collected by the students. The advantages of long-term, challenging laboratoryexperiences actively involving the students in group process, self-direction, and scientific practices are discussed. Also considered are development of laboratory skills, scientific competencies, and students’ self-confidence in carrying out such environmental investigations. Plans for future assessment of student learning are presented. PMID:23653550

During the last five years, undergraduate students at the College of Charleston have had numerous opportunities to take part in the college's Transect Program and sail aboard research vessels on 2-5 day cruises to study the continental shelf. The program's purpose is to train students in oceanographic research while developing a long-term information geodatabase to characterize and monitor essential fish habitats, and to map seafloor geomorphology. During these cruises students take the lead to conduct a variety of research investigations which include hydrographic surveys of the seafloor using sidescan sonar, multibeam bathymetry, and video collected using a remotely operated vehicle and during SCUBA dives. Following the data collection cruises, students have enrolled in semester-long research courses to analyze data and document results through poster and oral presentations. More than 60 students have taken part in at least one of 6 programs. In the past two years, the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER has provided invaluable sea time to conduct multibeam surveys of the mid- and outer continental shelf off Charleston, so that the 22 participating Transect students have focused their work on seafloor mapping, and have become trained in state-of-the art CARIS multibeam and sidescan sonar processing software. Most of these students have presented their results at professional meetings, and manuscripts are currently in preparation. Students have had numerous post-program opportunities to conduct further research at sea and in the lab. They have collaborated with NOAA scientists and other investigators, conducting bathymetry data processing and analysis from other regions. Most recently, two program graduates worked with University of Washington investigators to map sites for the Ocean Observatory Initiative Regional Scale Nodes. Several students have been contracted or hired as hydrographic survey technicians, while others have gone to graduate school to continue their work using these invaluable skills learned as undergraduates.

It is increasingly easy and, therefore, increasingly common to conductexperiments and questionnaire studies in online environments. However, the online environment is not a data collection medium that is familiar to many researchers or to many research methods instructors. Because of this, researchers have received little information about how to address ethical issues when conducting online research. Researchers need practical suggestions on how to translate federal and professional ethics codes into this new data collection medium. This article assists United States psychologists in designing online studies that meet accepted standards for informed consent, deception, debriefing, the right to withdraw, security of test materials, copyright of participants' materials, confidentiality and anonymity, and avoiding harm. PMID:19001403

High-speed spectra of hypervelocity impacts at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range (AVGR) captured the rapidly evolving conditions of impact-generated vapor as a function of impact angle, viewpoint, and time (within the first 50 ?s). Impact speeds possible at the AVGR (<7 km/s) are insufficient to induce significant vaporization in silicates, other than the high-temperature (but low-mass) jetting component created at first contact. Consequently, this study used powdered dolomite as a proxy for surveying the evolution and distribution of chemical constituents within much longer lasting vapor. Seven separate telescopes focused on different portions of the impact vapor plume and were connected through quartz fibers to two 0.35 cm monochromaters. Quarter-space experiments reduced the thermal background and opaque phases due to condensing particles and heated projectile fragments while different exposure times isolated components passing through different the fields of view, both above and below the surface within the growing transient cavity. At early times (<5 ?s), atomic emission lines dominate the spectra. At later times, molecular emission lines dominate the composition of the vapor plume along a given direction. Layered targets and target mixtures isolated the source and reveal that much of the vaporization comes from the uppermost surface. Collisions by projectile fragments downrange also make significant contributions for impacts below 60° (from the horizontal). Further, impacts into mixtures of silicates with powdered dolomite reveal that frictional heating must play a role in vapor production. Such results have implications for processes controlling vaporization on planetary surfaces including volatile release, atmospheric evolution (formation and erosion), vapor generated by the Deep Impact collision, and the possible consequences of the Chicxulub impact.

For a number of years Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has conducted a sizeable program of human factors research and development in support of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The history of this effort has in many ways paralleled the growth of human factors R and D throughout the nuclear industry and the program has contributed to advances in the industry as well as to NRC regulatory and research programs. This paper reviews the major projects and products of the program relevant to training and concludes with an identification of future R and D needs.

High-energy physics research as conducted at Argonne National Laboratory is characterized by transport of beams of highly relativistic charged particles, and detection and analysis of the interaction of these particles with one another. Microwave systems find application in both areas. In beam transport RF separators are frequently used to physically separate particles of different quantum mass. Microwave discharge chambers are

Chlorination of drinking water leads to the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) that has been proved have adverse health effects on humans. Research on this subject has been continued and new epidemiological and toxicological studies have been conducted. In this paper, authors investigate and analyze factors affecting THMs formation in pipe networks by conducting corresponding experiments on a close small-scale water

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictive capabilities of fire models using the results of a series of fire experimentsconducted in an aircraft hangar with a ceiling height of about 15 m. This study is designed to investigate model applicability at a ceiling height where only a limited amount of experimental data is available. This analysis deals primarily with temperature comparisons as a function of distance from the fire center and depth beneath the ceiling. Only limited velocity measurements in the ceiling jet were available but these are also compared with those models with a velocity predictive capability.

A simple and robust biochemistry laboratoryexperiment is described that uses restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products to verify the identity of a potentially valuable horse. During the first laboratory period, students purify DNA from equine samples and amplify two loci of mitochondrial DNA. During the second laboratory period, students digest PCR products with restriction enzymes and analyze the fragment sizes through agarose gel electrophoresis. An optional step of validating DNA extracts through realtime PCR can expand the experiment to three weeks. This experiment, which has an engaging and versatile scenario, provides students with exposure to key principles and techniques of molecular biology, bioinformatics, and evolution in a forensic context. PMID:24363455

Porewater toxicity tests have been used as indicators of whole sediment toxicity. However, many species commonly tested in porewater predominately reside in the water column and otherwise have little to no direct contact with sediment and associated porewater. We assessed the feasibility of porewater toxicity tests with fingernail clams Musculium transversum, a benthic macroinvertebrate that inhabits soft bottom sediments and feeds by filtering surface and porewater. Fingernail clams were exposed to water or sediment in a 96 h laboratory test with a 5 x 2 factorial experimental design. The five treatments included sediments from four sites in the Mississippi River and one sediment-free control (well water). In all treatments, clams were exposed to the sediments or water either directly (no enclosure) or indirectly (enclosure, suspended above the sediment surface). There were three replicates for each of the ten treatment combinations. Overall, survival of fingernail clams did not vary among the five treatments (p = 0.36). In treatments without enclosures, survival of clams in the sediment-free control was not significantly different (p = 0.34) from the sediment-containing treatments. Survival of clams in the sediment-free control averaged 85 - suggesting that direct sediment contact is not necessary for survival in short-term tests. In contrast, survival of clams in the sediment-containing treatments differed significantly (p = 0.03) between exposures with (mean, 77) and without (mean, 89) enclosures. Thus, fingernail clams may provide an alternative species for evaluating benthic macroinvertebrates in short-term laboratory porewater tests. However, more information on their physiological requirements and the development of sublethal endpoints is recommended before their use in tests of longer duration. (C) 2000 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Predicting the function of hydrological systems under near-stationary conditions faces a number of challenges due to incomplete system understanding, and uncertainty in models and measurements. However, due to changes in climate, land use/land cover, and water demand, the hydrological function of many catchments cannot be considered as stationary. Such changes make modelling catchment systems more difficult, as models need to account for non-stationary forcing and boundary conditions, which in turn can change internal catchment function, and the states and processes that dominate hydrological response. In addition, such models may need to be used to make predictions beyond a range of conditions for which they were originally calibrated. Despite these problems, deriving accurate hydrological predictions under changing conditions is increasingly important for future water resource and flood hazard assessment. Simulating catchments under changing conditions may require more complex distributed models in order to adequately represent spatial changes in boundary conditions (e.g. land cover change). However, the potential for complex models to address these issues cannot be realised in many places because of data problems, which may result from a lack of data, data access issues, and time-consuming problems in bringing diverse sources of data together and into a useable format. A greater understanding of the link between model complexity and data is required to make appropriate modelling choices. Virtual water science laboratories offer the ideal opportunity to explore the issues of model complexity and data availability in the context of predictions under changing environments because they: (1) provide an opportunity to share open data; (2) provide a platform to compare different models; (3) facilitate collaboration between different modelling research groups. This paper introduces a new collaborative experiment, conducted in an open virtual water science laboratory as part of the EC FP7 funded project Switch-On: CAtchment Prediction In Changing Environments (CAPICHE). The aims of the collaborative experiment are to: gain a thorough, comparative understanding of how different models simulate catchments under changing environments; understand how the ability of different models to simulate catchments under change is affected by data availability, and therefore identify appropriate model structures given available data; identify what hydrological signatures, and therefore what model behaviours are most sensitive to model structure, data availability and parameter uncertainty when simulating under changing conditions; identify gaps in existing open data sources according to modelling requirements. Interested researchers are invited to consider potential collaboration.

We modified our multi-channel, steady-state flow-through (SSFT), soil-CO2 flux monitoring system to include an array of inexpensive pyroelectric non-dispersive infrared detectors for full-range (0-100%) coverage of CO2 concentrations without dilution, and a larger-diameter vent tube. We then conducted field testing of this system from late July through mid-September 2010 at the Zero Emissions Research and Technology (ZERT) project site located in Bozeman, MT, and subsequently, laboratory testing at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA using a flux bucket filled with dry sand. In the field, an array of twenty-five SSFT and three non-steady-state (NSS) flux chambers was installed in a 10x4 m area, the long boundary of which was directly above a shallow (2-m depth) horizontal injection well located 0.5 m below the water table. Two additional chambers (one SSFT and one NSS) were installed 10 m from the well for background measurements. Volumetric soil moisture sensors were installed at each SSFT chamber to measure mean levels in the top 0.15 m of soil. A total flux of 52 kg CO2 d-1 was injected into the well for 27 d and the efflux from the soil was monitored by the chambers before, during, and for 27 d after the injection. Overall, the results were consistent with those from previous years, showing a radial efflux pattern centered on a known “hot spot”, rapid responses to changes in injection rate and wind power, evidence for movement of the CO2 plume during the injection, and nominal flux levels from the SSFT chambers that were up to 6-fold higher than those measured by adjacent NSS chambers. Soil moisture levels varied during the experiment from moderate to near saturation with the highest levels occurring consistently at the hot spot. The effects of wind on measured flux were complex and decreased as soil moisture content increased. In the laboratory, flux bucket testing with the SSFT chamber showed large measured-flux enhancement due to the Venturi effect on the chamber vent, but an overall decrease in measured flux when wind also reached the sand surface. Flux-bucket tests at a high flux (comparable to that at the hot spot) also showed that the measured flux levels increase linearly with the chamber-flushing rate until the actual level is reached. At the SSFT chamber-flushing rate used in the field experiment the measured flux in the laboratory was only about a third of the actual flux. The ratio of measured to actual flux increased logarithmically as flux decreased, and reached parity at low levels typical of diffusive flux systems. Taken together, our results suggest that values for advective CO2 flux measured by SSFT and NSS chamber systems are likely to be significantly lower than the actual values due to back pressure developed in the chamber that diverts flux from entering the chamber. Chamber designs that counteract the back pressure and also avoid large Venturi effects associated with vent tubes, such as the SSFT with a narrow vent tube operated at a high chamber-flushing rate, are likely to yield flux measurements closer to the true values.

Electrical resistivity measurements were performed to characterize the anisotropy of electrical resistivity of the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) at the end-face of a gallery in the Opalinus clay of the Mont Terri Underground Rock Laboratory (URL). The data were acquired with a combination of square arrays in 18 zones on the gallery's face and in two series of four boreholes perpendicular to the face. Each data set is independently inverted using simulated annealing to recover the resistivity tensor. Both the stability and the non-uniqueness of the inverse problem are discussed with synthetic examples. The inversion of the data shows that the face is split in two domains separated by a tectonic fracture, with different resistivity values but with a common orientation. The direction of the maximum resistivity is found perpendicular to the bedding plane, and the direction of minimum resistivity is contained in the face's plane. These results show that the geo-electrical structure of the EDZ is controlled by a combination of effects due to tectonics, stratigraphy, and recent fracturing produced by the excavation of the gallery.

Medical writing has become an essential skill for anybody in academia and engaged in teaching. Workshops on medical writing are an effective way to teach the essential skills of medical writing to students and faculty members. There is a huge demand for these workshops all around the globe. Usually there is no curriculum of medical writing for the undergraduates or dedicated structured training sessions for the faculty members. One of the authors won an Author AID grant to conduct a series of workshops on medical writing. Eight workshops were conducted in three months, benefitting more than 200 students and faculty staff. We share our experience of holding this successful series of workshops with the aim that it might serve as a guide for researchers and faculty members who are eager to share and transfer their skills and knowledge. We also offer lessons learnt during this educational activity, tips to improve the quality and delivery of the content with limited resources and maximizing the impact. Experienced medical writers need to conduct these workshops to transfer their skills and to facilitate their colleagues and students to become better medical writers. Planning, rehearsal, motivation, resource management, good team work, audience analysis and feedback can make a workshop successful. Well prepared workshop content delivered in an interactive way with a variety of activities makes the workshop an engaging and interesting educational activity. PMID:26060168

For several years tracer migration experiments are performed at Nagra's Grimsel Test Site in the Swiss Alps as a joint undertaking of Nagra, PNC and PSI. The aim is to develop methods for field experiments at possible sites for nuclear waste repositories and to test radionuclide transport models.A hydraulic dipole field is generated in a well-defined fracture zone in granite.

Laboratoryexperiments provide a wealth of information related to mechanics of fracture initiation, fracture propagation processes, factors influencing fault strength, and spatio-temporal evolution of fracture properties. Much of the existing literature reports on laboratory studies involving a coupling of thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and/or chemical processes. As these processes operate within subsurface environments exploited for their energy resource, laboratory results provide insights into factors influencing the mechanical and hydraulic properties of geothermal systems. I report on laboratory observations of strength and fluid transport properties during deformation of simulated faults. The results show systematic trends that vary with stress state, deformation rate, thermal conditions, fluid content, and rock composition. When related to geophysical and geologic measurements obtained from engineered geothermal systems (e.g. microseismicity, wellbore studies, tracer analysis), laboratory results provide a means by which the evolving thermal reservoir can be interpreted in terms of physico-chemical processes. For example, estimates of energy release and microearthquake locations from seismic moment tensor analysis can be related to strength variations observed from friction experiments. Such correlations between laboratory and field data allow for better interpretations about the evolving mechanical and fluid transport properties in the geothermal reservoir – ultimately leading to improvements in managing the resource.

A theoretical analysis for astrophysics-oriented laser-matter interaction experiments in the presence of a strong ambient magnetic field is presented. It is shown that the plasma collision in the ambient magnetic field implies significant perturbations in the electron density and magnetic field distribution. This transient stage is difficult to observe in astrophysical phenomena, but it could be investigated in laboratoryexperiments. Analytic models are presented, which are supported by particles-in-cell simulations.

Laboratoryexperiments on heterogeneous porous media (otherwise known as intermediate scale experiments, or ISEs) have been\\u000a increasingly relied upon by hydrogeologists for the study of saturated and unsaturated groundwater systems. Among the many\\u000a ongoing applications of ISEs is the study of fluid flow and the transport of conservative solutes in correlated permeability\\u000a fields. Recent advances in ISE design have provided

During the period 1976 to 1979 L'Garde, Inc. developed geothermal elastomer compounds under a U.S. Department of Energy - Division of Geothermal Energy (DOE-DGE) contract. The resulting developments yielded compounds from 4 polymer systems which successfully exceeded the contract requirements. Since completion of the compound development, significant laboratory and down-hole experience occurred, primarily on the Y267 EPDM compound. This work summarizes those experiences. 11 references.

An undergraduate laboratory based on a functionally complete set of virtual tools for experimenting is described in this paper. An outstanding feature of the experimenting environment is an easy-to-use, graphical user interface to a laboratoryexperiment. It significantly shortens the time needed to implement experimenter-defined laboratory procedures and eliminates the need for high-level-language programming on the experimenter side. Taking advantage

Laboratoryexperiments were performed in order to investigate the basic physics of current flow between tethered electrodes in magnetoplasmas. The major findings are summarized. The experiments are performed in an effectively very large laboratory plasma in which not only the nonlinear current collection is addressed but also the propagation and spread of currents, the formation of current wings by moving electrodes, the current closure, and radiation from transmission lines. The laboratory plasma consists of a pulsed dc discharge whose Maxwellian afterglow provides a quiescent, current-free uniform background plasma. Electrodes consisting of collectors and electron emitters are inserted into the plasma and a pulsed voltage is applied between two floating electrodes via insulated transmission lines. Besides the applied current in the wire, the total current density in the plasma is obtained from space and time resolved magnetic probe measurements via Maxwell's law. Langmuir probes yield the plasma parameters.

This paper presents the development of the eMerge project, an innovative and advanced educational network structure that will permit the dissemination of online laboratoryexperiments to support engineering and science education. This project has been performing in the framework of European Community SOCRATES - MINERVA program. Partners from nine different educational institutions are involved in this project. The actual work

Laboratoryexperiments are reported which determine the magnetic field and neutral density limits for Critical Ionization Velocity (CIV) interaction in the impact configuration. A combination of microwave interferometry and spectroscopy was used to measure how the electron energy distribution varies with the neutral density and the magnetic field strength. The efficiency of the CIV process is evaluated in terms of

Laboratoryexperiments are reported which determine the magnetic field and neutral density limits for critical ionization velocity (CIV) interaction in the impact configuration. A combination of microwave interferometry and spectroscopy has been used to measure how the electron energy distribution varies with the neutral density and the magnetic field strength. The efficiency of the CIV process is evaluated in terms

A simple experiment was devised to let students determine the solubility and solubility product, "K"[subscript sp], of calcium sulfate dihydrate in a first-level laboratory. The students experimentally work on an intriguing equilibrium law: the constancy of the product of the ion concentrations of a sparingly soluble salt. The determination of…

The study explains the quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) technique, which is often used as an undergraduate laboratoryexperiment for measuring the mass of a system. QCM can be used as a mass sensor only when the measured mass is rigidly attached to the surface.

With the rapid proliferation of Internet technologies, accessing and operating engineering instruments remotely anytime anywhere is fast becoming a reality. This paper presents a new web- based virtual laboratory on a frequency modulation experiment for the teaching of an undergraduate course on communication principles in the National University of Singapore (NUS). The lab- oratory requires only a common web browser

This article describes a static method as an alternative to gel chromatography, which may be used as an undergraduate laboratoryexperiment. In this method, a constant mass of Sephadex gel is swollen in a series of protein solutions. UV-vis spectrophotometry is used to find a partition coefficient, KD, that indicates the fraction of the interior…

Ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) is commonly used as an anticoagulant in blood-collection procedures. In this experiment for the instrumental analysis laboratory, students determine the quantity of EDTA in commercial collection tubes by coulometric titration with electrolytically generated Cu[superscript 2+]. The endpoint is detected…

The Vitamin C Clock Reaction has now been adapted to serve as a student laboratoryexperiment in the education process of high-school and college-level general chemistry. Despite of imparting valuable knowledge, it also may be hazardous, as the tincture of iodine contains inflammable substances that may cause burning on prolonged exposure.

The design and implementation of an advanced guided-inquiry experiment for the organic laboratory is described. Grubbs's second-generation catalyst is used to effect the ring-closing metathesis of diethyl diallylmalonate. The reaction is carried out under an inert atmosphere at room temperature and monitored by argentic TLC. The crude reaction is…

An undergraduate organic chemistry laboratoryexperiment has been developed that features a discovery-based microscale Fischer esterification utilizing a microwave reactor. Students individually synthesize a unique ester from known sets of alcohols and carboxylic acids. Each student identifies the best reaction conditions given their particular…

We describe a laboratory plasma experiment and initial experimental results which give insight into the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) of accretion disks and jet formation. We utilize a magnetized plasma gun with concentric electrodes to simulate the topology of a star-disk system. The inner electrode, which respresents the star, is a 20.3 cm disk. The outer electrode, which represents the accreting disk,

A Mach, or directional Langmuir probe was designed and constructed for use on two laboratory plasma experiments at Los Alamos. The Mach probe consists of two oppositely facing molybdenum electrodes, each exposed to only one direction of plasma flow, and two electrically floating molybdenum tips contained within a cylindrical alumina probe body of OD 5 cm. The size of the

Semiconductor quantum dots are at the forefront of materials science chemistry with applications in biological imaging and photovoltaic technologies. We have developed a simple laboratoryexperiment to measure the quantum-dot size from fluorescence spectra. A major roadblock of quantum-dot based exercises is the particle synthesis and handling;…

A computational experiment is described for the organic chemistry laboratory that allows students to estimate the relative strengths of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds of usnic and isousnic acids, two related lichen secondary metabolites. Students first extract and purify usnic acid from common lichens and obtain [superscript 1]H NMR and IR…

An advanced undergraduate chemistry laboratoryexperiment to study the advantages and hazards of the coupling of NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics is described. The combination is commonly used for analysis and process control of various ingredients used in agriculture, petroleum and food products.

The production mechanism of light alkenes, alkanes, and isoprene was investigated in laboratoryexperiments by measuring their concentrations in natural seawater as a function of spectral range, exposure time and origin, and concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The production mechanism of alkanes and of isoprene could not be clarified. Ethene and propene are produced photochemically from DOC. The relevant

This qualitative study aims to examine Japanese women undergraduate engineering students' experiences of interacting with departmental peers of the same year in the laboratory setting by using interview data of 32 final-year students at two modestly selective national universities in Japan. Expectation state theory that explains unequal…

Stopped-flow kinetics techniques are important to the study of rapid chemical and biochemical reactions. Incorporation of a stopped-flow kinetics experiment into the physical chemistry laboratory curriculum would therefore be an instructive addition. However, the usual reactions studied in such exercises employ a corrosive reagent that can over…

In this article, we describe an experiment for the undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory in which students measure the compressibility factor of two gases, helium and carbon dioxide, as a function of pressure at constant temperature. The experimental apparatus is relatively inexpensive to construct and is described and diagrammed in detail.…

An experiment on fluorescence spectroscopy suitable for an advanced analytical laboratory is presented. Its conceptual development used a combination of the expository and discovery styles. The "learn-as-you-go" and direct "hands-on" methodology applied ensures an active role for a student in the process of visualization and discovery of concepts.…

Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the effect of investigative activities with manipulations in a virtual laboratory on students' ability to design experiments. Sample: Fourteen students in a lower secondary school in Greece attended a teaching sequence on thermal phenomena based on the use of information and…

The primary mission of the Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility (PDCF) Project was to disassemble nuclear weapons pits and convert the resulting special nuclear materials to a form suitable for further disposition. Because of the nature of materials involved, the fundamental system which allowed PDCF to perform its mission was a series of integrated and interconnected gloveboxes which provided confinement and containment of the radioactive materials being processed. The high throughput planned for PDCF and the relatively high neutron and gamma radiation levels of the pits required that gloveboxes be shielded to meet worker dose limits. The glovebox shielding material was required to contain high hydrogen concentrations which typically result in these materials being combustible. High combustible loadings created design challenges for the facility fire suppression and ventilation system design. Combustible loading estimates for the PDCF Plutonium (Pu) Processing Building increased significantly due to these shielding requirements. As a result, the estimates of combustible loading substantially exceeded values used to support fire and facility safety analyses. To ensure a valid basis for combustible loading contributed by the glovebox system, the PDCF Project funded a series of fire tests conducted by the Southwest Research Institute on door panels and a representative glovebox containing Water Extended Polyester (WEP) radiological shielding to observe their behavior during a fire event. Improvements to PDCF glovebox designs were implemented based on lessons learned during the fire test. In particular, methods were developed to provide high levels of neutron shielding while maintaining combustible loading in the glovebox shells at low levels. Additionally, the fire test results led to design modifications to mitigate pressure increases observed during the fire test in order to maintain the integrity of the WEP cladding. These changes resulted in significantly reducing the credited combustible loading of the facility. These advances in glovebox design should be considered for application in nuclear facilities within the Department of Energy complex in the future.

The blue bottle experiment was first introduced to the chemical education literature as a simple demonstration on kinetics. Its original formulation contains only glucose, NaOH and small amount of methylene blue. The solution turns blue when shaken and fades to colorless upon standing. This bluing/de-bluing cycle may be repeated and may be compared to blood colors in animal's respiratory cycle. Inspired by the blue bottle experiment, the colorful chemical bottle experiment kit was commercially developed in 2006. The kit is a versatile pedagogical tool, not only for physical chemistry but also for analytical, biological and organic chemistry. It also helps teaching concepts in scientific method and laboratory safety. This manuscript contains four parts, brief review on literature relating to the blue bottle experiment, description of the colorful chemical bottle experiment kit, pedagogical discussion of the experiments and preliminary evaluation from students.

Typical college science instruction fails to promote an accurate view of science as a discipline and a practice. This is likely due to the fact that the experiences of students in the classroom are very different from the actions and thought processes of scientists. Thus, students often leave the classroom experience with poor inquiry skills and naive beliefs about scientific practice. In order to bridge the gap between the typical classroom experience and expert practice, the MORE Project laboratory curriculum was developed to accompany the general chemistry course at the University of California at Berkeley. The framework guiding the curriculum development considered findings from educational and cognitive science research. The three components of the framework are: (a) exploration of concepts through authentic scientific inquiry; (b) promotion of metacognition; and (c) support for guided discovery. The curriculum provides students with a cognitive model of expert research, the MORE (Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain) Cycle, to encourage students to explore conceptually-rich systems through authentic research opportunities, such as designing experiments and refining explanatory models. By embedding the MORE structure into the laboratory curriculum, we provide students with a model for how scientists think through the inquiry process. In order to assess the impact of the MORE Project learning environment, it was implemented in two sections concurrent with the traditional laboratoryexperience. Various instruments were administered to determine any differences between the test and control groups with regards to attitudes towards chemistry, conceptual understanding, inquiry skills, and beliefs about scientific practice. Based on the analyses, students experiencing the MORE classroom achieved significant gains in all areas compared with students enrolled in the more traditional laboratory class. Specifically, students in the MORE class (a) recognized the complex, dynamic processes typical of scientific practice; (b) developed more sophisticated inquiry skills; and (c) practiced modeling and reflection in the laboratory.

Icy surfaces like the polar caps of Mars, comets, Edgeworth-Kuiper belt objects or the surface areas of many moons in the outer Solar System behave different than rock and soil surfaces when irradiated by solar light. The latter ones absorb and reflect incoming solar radiation immediately at the surface. In contrast, ices are partially transparent in the visible spectral range and opaque in the infrared. Due to this fact it is possible for the solar radiation to reach a certain depth and increase the temperature of the sub-surface layers directly. This internal temperature rise is called "solid-state greenhouse effect," in analogy to the classical greenhouse effect in an atmosphere. It may play an important role in the energy balance of various icy bodies in the Solar System. Within the scope of a project conducted at the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Graz the solid-state greenhouse effect was investigated experimentally and theoretically. A number of experiments with diverse materials, focussing mainly on layered samples with a surface cover consisting of transparent H 2O-ice, were performed. The samples were irradiated under cryo-vacuum conditions by a solar simulator. The temperature distributions inside the samples were measured and compared with the results of numerical model calculations. We found that the predicted sub-surface temperature maximum is very clearly measurable in glass beads samples with various particle size distributions, but can also be detected in transparent compact surface ice layers. However, in the latter case it is less distinct than originally expected. Measuring the effect by laboratory methods turned out to be a difficult task due to the shallow depth where the temperature maximum occurs.

A waste removal program is being implemented for the Gunite and Associated Tanks (GAAT) Operable Unit at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The waste is being removed by means of remotely operated, in-tank, confined sluicing equipment. The waste removal operations in Tanks W-3 and W-4 in the North Tank Farm (NTF) have been completed and the equipment is being moved to the South Tank Farm (STF), where it will be used to remove the sludges from the six STF tanks (W-5, W-6, W-7, W-8, W-9, and W-10) beginning later this year. During sluicing operations the dry wells adjacent to each of the tanks are instrumented so that potential releases can be detected by means external to the tank. The method of detection is by monitoring the electrical conductivity of the water in the dry well associated with each tank. This report documents the dry well conductivity monitoring data for the period from July 1997 through January 1998. The dry wells monitored during this period include DW-3, DW-4, DW-8, DW-9, and DW-10. The conductivity of the water passing through Pump Station 1 (PS 1) was also monitored. The principal activities that occurred during this period were the sluicing of Tanks W-3 and W-4 in the NTF, transfer of tank liquids from the NTF to the STF, and the installation of new risers, tank dome leveling, and emplacement of stabilized base backfill in the STF. Presented in this report are the dry well conductivity, rainfall, tank level, and STF construction information that is relevant to the analysis and interpretation of the monitoring data for the reporting period. A thorough analysis of the monitoring results for the period indicates that no releases have occurred from the gunite tanks being monitored.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry has become a valuable tool for performing routine biochemical analyses. A common procedure for protein identification involves using tryptic digestion to obtain masses of individual peptides derived from the protein. The masses are compared against an online database, and probability-based scoring systems are used to determine the closest protein matches. This article describes an experiment we have developed for an undergraduate honors general chemistry laboratory to introduce students to state-of-the-art mass spectrometric methods. Students are given an overview of the theory and instrumentation associated with MALDI TOF, and gain hands-on experience with Internet tools for protein identification using mass spectral data. The experiment would be suitable for upper-division undergraduate laboratory courses as well; appropriate modifications for this purpose are also described.

0 Experiment 36 ­ Extraterrestrial microwaves Place : ML-laboratory, lab at the end of the flight'clock in order to finish the exercises in time. #12;1 Experiment 36 Extraterrestrial microwaves 1. Historical

In this study, specific development of empirical models for estimation of laboratory thermal conductivities from wire line log thermal conductivity within the ambience of locally oriented wells located in the Niger Delta have been established. The laboratory thermal conductivity is characterised with high fidelity compared to wire line log thermal conductivity whose values vary as the dependence of lithology of the subsurface geomaterials, well effects, as well as the effects of the limited bed thickness of the adjacent lithological units of the Niger Delta where the study was stationed. The generalised equation kleff = 0.709 kweff + 0.188 is an empirically estimated model based on site variables (porosity, permeability and temperature) and constants (cementation factor, formation factor and tortuosity) of the locally oriented wells in the Niger Delta. It can be used to set bounds on the unstable wire line log thermal conductivity values within the 1-2.5 km depths where the oil-rich geomaterials in the Niger Delta are usually found. Equations have been established which show inter-convertibility between laboratory and wire line log thermal conductivity. These equations are considered useful in converting the available wire line log thermal conductivity data of nearby wells in the area to the usually desired and stable laboratory thermal conductivity. Various diagrams in 2-D and 3-D have been established to show the distribution of the parameters considered, and this could help the operating companies in the zone to predict the density of oil.

In this study, specific development of empirical models for estimation of laboratory thermal conductivities from wire line log thermal conductivity within the ambience of locally oriented wells located in the Niger Delta have been established. The laboratory thermal conductivity is characterised with high fidelity compared to wire line log thermal conductivity whose values vary as the dependence of lithology of the subsurface geomaterials, well effects, as well as the effects of the limited bed thickness of the adjacent lithological units of the Niger Delta where the study was stationed. The generalised equation k leff = 0.709 k weff + 0.188 is an empirically estimated model based on site variables (porosity, permeability and temperature) and constants (cementation factor, formation factor and tortuosity) of the locally oriented wells in the Niger Delta. It can be used to set bounds on the unstable wire line log thermal conductivity values within the 1-2.5 km depths where the oil-rich geomaterials in the Niger Delta are usually found. Equations have been established which show inter-convertibility between laboratory and wire line log thermal conductivity. These equations are considered useful in converting the available wire line log thermal conductivity data of nearby wells in the area to the usually desired and stable laboratory thermal conductivity. Various diagrams in 2-D and 3-D have been established to show the distribution of the parameters considered, and this could help the operating companies in the zone to predict the density of oil.

The PEASMA (Perturbations Aéro-Electrodynamiques et Sonde Martienne) main sci- entific objective is to study the electrical charging of a conductive body in vertical motion in the atmosphere. During the COMAS-SOLA balloon flight experiment be- tween León and Taffala, Spain, 1995, a relaxation probe to measure the polar ionic conductivities in the atmosphere of Titan with the Huygens spacecraft was tested

Edgar Douglas Adrian, a dominating figure of 20th century electrophysiology, published in 1912 a study on the effects of the conduction block induced by application of alcohol vapours to small segments of nerves from which he derived the conclusion that nerve signals regenerate along the nerve fibre during the conduction process. This conclusion was based on results of experiments in

Persistent antibiotics in the soil potentially contaminate the groundwater and affect the quality of drinking water. To improve our understanding of antibiotic transport in soils, we performed laboratory transport experiments in soil columns under constant irrigation conditions with repeated applications of chloride and radio-labeled SDZ. The tracers were incorporated in the first centimeter, either with pig manure or with solution. Breakthrough curves and concentration profiles of the parent compound and the main transformation products were measured. The goal is to describe the observed nonlinear and kinetic transport behavior of SDZ. Our analysis starts with synthetic transport data for the given laboratory flow conditions for tracers which exhibit increasingly complex interactions with the solid phase. This first step is necessary to benchmark our inverse modeling approach for ideal situations. Then we analyze the transport behavior using the column experiments in the laboratory. Our analysis uses a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler (Differential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis algorithm, DREAM) to efficiently search the parameter space of an advective-dispersion model. Sorption of the antibiotics to the soil was described using a model regarding reversible as well as irreversible sorption. This presentation will discuss our initial findings. We will present the data of our laboratoryexperiments along with an analysis of parameter uncertainty.

Laboratoryexperiments were conducted to examine the effect of charcoal addition on N2O emissions resulting from rewetting of air-dried soil. Rewetting the soil at 73% and 83% of the water-filled pore space (WFPS) caused a N2O emission peak 6 h after the rewetting, and the cumulative N2O emissions throughout the 120-h incubation period were 11 ± 1 and 13 ± 1 mg N m, respectively. However, rewetting at

Engineering- and pilot-scale tests of the in situ vitrification (ISV) process have been conducted for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of applying ISV to seepage trenches and pits at ORNL. These sites contain soil that overlies crushed limestone fill; therefore, the ISV process is applied to a soil-limestone mixture. Previous testing indicated that while a good retention level of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 90}Sr was achieved in the melt, it would be desirable to improve {sup 137}Cs retention to 99.99% if possible to minimize activity in the off-gas system. Previous testing was limited to one soil-limestone composition. Both Cs volatility and ISV power requirements are in part dependent on melt temperature and viscosity, which depend on melt composition. The study described in this report determined the effect of varying soil and limestone compositions, as well as the addition of a sodium flux, on melt viscosity, electrical conductivity, and Cs volatility. 10 refs., 15 figs., 9 tabs.

such as closure stress, and temperature and fracture fluid parameters such as proppant loading over the final conductivity of a hydraulic fracture treatment. With the purpose of estimating the relation between fracture conductivity and the design parameters, two...

such as closure stress, and temperature and fracture fluid parameters such as proppant loading over the final conductivity of a hydraulic fracture treatment. With the purpose of estimating the relation between fracture conductivity and the design parameters, two...

SEAWAT is a coupled version of MODFLOW and MT3DMS designed to simulate variable-density ground water flow and solute transport. The most recent version of SEAWAT, called SEAWAT Version 4, includes new capabilities to represent simultaneous multispecies solute and heat transport. To test the new features in SEAWAT, the laboratoryexperiment of Henry and Hilleke (1972) was simulated. Henry and Hilleke used warm fresh water to recharge a large sand-filled glass tank. A cold salt water boundary was represented on one side. Adjustable heating pads were used to heat the bottom and left sides of the tank. In the laboratoryexperiment, Henry and Hilleke observed both salt water and fresh water flow systems separated by a narrow transition zone. After minor tuning of several input parameters with a parameter estimation program, results from the SEAWAT simulation show good agreement with the experiment. SEAWAT results suggest that heat loss to the room was more than expected by Henry and Hilleke, and that multiple thermal convection cells are the likely cause of the widened transition zone near the hot end of the tank. Other computer programs with similar capabilities may benefit from benchmark testing with the Henry and Hilleke laboratoryexperiment. Journal Compilation ?? 2009 National Ground Water Association.

This paper is a methodological discussion on a qualitative research project which involved interviewing lesbians and gay men about their experiences of nursing care. The research project arose primarily because most of the knowledge available on the subject was based on hearsay and anecdote. It is worthy of note that those who felt there was an issue to be addressed, as well as the bearers of anecdote, were by and large what would be termed 'insiders' in ethnographic research, and zealots with an axe to grind in less academic circles. It is the nature of this "insider' status which is of interest throughout the research process of what was and remains a sensitive research topic. 'Insider' status can reduce many of the problems associated with conducting sensitive research in terms of access, rapport with subjects, ethical concerns, and stigma contagion, but by the same token lays researchers open to the charge of bias thought to be inherent in going native, or rather in this case being native. However, there are some problems associated with 'insider' status as well and this paper offers a discussion of the methodological problems we have encountered in relation to this, as well as more general methodological issues when conducting research considered to be sensitive. Ethical dilemmas also arose during the research when lesbian and gay patients who were currently receiving hospital care contacted the researchers directly because they felt threatened by nursing and medical staff. The paper is an attempt to describe some fairly conscious strategies to use the research team's 'insider' status for methodological reasons and to explain the ethical position we took when we felt compromised. PMID:9080291

This report, ''Summary Report of Laboratory Critical Experiment Analyses Performed for the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology'', contains a summary of the laboratory critical experiment (LCE) analyses used to support the validation of the disposal criticality analysis methodology. The objective of this report is to present a summary of the LCE analyses' results. These results demonstrate the ability of MCNP to accurately predict the critical multiplication factor (keff) for fuel with different configurations. Results from the LCE evaluations will support the development and validation of the criticality models used in the disposal criticality analysis methodology. These models and their validation have been discussed in the ''Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology Topical Report'' (CRWMS M&O 1998a).

Preferential solute transport coupled with diffusion into the surrounding matrix region has been examined in a silty loam soil by conducting macropore column experiments for various hydrophobic organic compounds (phenanthrene, 1, 2-DCB, TCE, carbofuran) representing the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorobenzenes, chlorinated solvents, and pesticides. A new and ready-to-use analytical solution was developed for this setting to model the breakthrough curves.

To study the rate and mechanism of granitic rock weathering, field weathering experiments using granodiorite tablets (diameter 3.5 cm, height 1.1 cm, weight 30 g) were conducted at a catchment over 10 yr. The tablets were exposed at three positions having different weathering conditions: ground surface, above aquifer, and in aquifer. The weight of the tablets decreased linearly with time:

The XENON10 experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory uses a 15 kg xenon dual phase time projection chamber to search for dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The detector measures simultaneously the scintillation and the ionization produced by radiation in pure liquid xenon to discriminate signal from background down to 4.5 keV nuclear-recoil energy. A blind analysis of

Samples of raw coal, fly ash and bottom ash have been collected from a Chinese power plant together with laboratory ash obtained by ashing of the coal under 850°C. Comparative-leaching experiments were carried out on each fraction under various pH conditions. A mathematical model for leaching of trace elements has been developed and leaching intensity (Il) has been calculated for

A model for the three-dimensional Spacecraft Control LaboratoryExperiment (SCOLE) is developed. The objective behind this method of modelling is to utilize the basic partial differential equations of motion for this distributed parameter system and not to use the modal expansion in developing the model. The final model obtained is in terms of a transfer function matrix which relates the flexible mast parameters like displacement, slope, shear stress, etc. to external forces and moments.

Students in our upper-division\\/graduate physical optics laboratory course assemble a high-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) from components, mode-match it to a helium-neon (HeNe) laser, and examine some of the FPI system's properties and uses. Here, we specify the necessary equipment and describe experimental procedures. For example, the experiments use the FPI's high spectral resolution to monitor the laser's behavior as it

The NAIAD experiment (NaI Advanced Detector) for WIMP dark matter searches at the Boulby Underground Laboratory (North Yorkshire, UK) ran from 2000 until 2003. A total of 44.9 kg×years of data collected with 2 encapsulated and 4 unencapsulated NaI(Tl) crystals with high light yield were included in the analysis. We present final results of this analysis carried out using pulse

It is shown that much information about planetary chemistry and physics can be gained through laboratory work. The types of experiments relevant to planetary research concern fundamental properties, spectral/optical properties, 'Miller-Urey' syntheses, and detailed syntheses. Specific examples of studies of the chemistry in the atmosphere of Titan are described with attention given to gas phase chemistry in the troposphere and the composition of model Titan aerosols. A list of work that still needs to be done is provided.

This paper presents a laboratory based evaluation study of cross-language information retrieval technologies, utilizing partially parallel test collections, NTCIR-2 (used together with NTCIR-1), where Japanese–English parallel document collections, parallel topic sets and their relevance judgments are available. These enable us to observe and compare monolingual retrieval processes in two languages as well as retrieval across languages. Our experiments focused on

We propose a new interferometer system for density profile measurements. This system produces multiple measurement chords by a leaky-wave antenna driven by multiple frequency inputs. The proposed system was validated in laboratory evaluation experiments. We confirmed that the interferometer generates a clear image of a Teflon plate as well as the phase shift corresponding to the plate thickness. In another experiment, we confirmed that quasi-optical mirrors can produce multiple measurement chords; however, the finite spot size of the probe beam degrades the sharpness of the resulting image.

The preliminary design of an experiment for landmark recognition and tracking from the Shuttle/Advanced Technology Laboratory is described. It makes use of parallel coherent optical processing to perform correlation tests between landmarks observed passively with a telescope and previously made holographic matched filters. The experimental equipment including the optics, the low power laser, the random access file of matched filters and the electro-optical readout device are described. A real time optically excited liquid crystal device is recommended for performing the input non-coherent optical to coherent optical interface function. A development program leading to a flight experiment in 1981 is outlined.

Large lecture classes and standardized laboratory exercises are characteristic of introductory biology courses. Previous research has found that these courses do not adequately convey the process of scientific research and the excitement of discovery. Here we propose a model that provides beginning biology students with an inquiry-based, active learning laboratoryexperience. The Dynamic Genome course replicates a modern research laboratory focused on eukaryotic transposable elements where beginning undergraduates learn key genetics concepts, experimental design, and molecular biological skills. Here we report on two key features of the course, a didactic module and the capstone original research project. The module is a modified version of a published experiment where students experience how virtual transposable elements from rice (Oryza sativa) are assayed for function in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. As part of the module, students analyze the phenotypes and genotypes of transgenic plants to determine the requirements for transposition. After mastering the skills and concepts, students participate in an authentic research project where they use computational analysis and PCR to detect transposable element insertion site polymorphism in a panel of diverse maize strains. As a consequence of their engagement in this course, students report large gains in their ability to understand the nature of research and demonstrate that they can apply that knowledge to independent research projects. PMID:23172853

Large lecture classes and standardized laboratory exercises are characteristic of introductory biology courses. Previous research has found that these courses do not adequately convey the process of scientific research and the excitement of discovery. Here we propose a model that provides beginning biology students with an inquiry-based, active learning laboratoryexperience. The Dynamic Genome course replicates a modern research laboratory focused on eukaryotic transposable elements where beginning undergraduates learn key genetics concepts, experimental design, and molecular biological skills. Here we report on two key features of the course, a didactic module and the capstone original research project. The module is a modified version of a published experiment where students experience how virtual transposable elements from rice (Oryza sativa) are assayed for function in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. As part of the module, students analyze the phenotypes and genotypes of transgenic plants to determine the requirements for transposition. After mastering the skills and concepts, students participate in an authentic research project where they use computational analysis and PCR to detect transposable element insertion site polymorphism in a panel of diverse maize strains. As a consequence of their engagement in this course, students report large gains in their ability to understand the nature of research and demonstrate that they can apply that knowledge to independent research projects. PMID:23172853

One of the ultimate goals of molecular electronics is to create technologies that will complement-and eventually supersede-Si-based microelectronics technologies. To reach this goal, electronic properties that mimic at least some of the electrical behaviors of today's semiconductor components must be recognized and characterized. An outstanding example for one such behavior is negative differential conductance (NDC), in which an increase in the voltage across the device terminals results in a decrease in the electric current passing through the device. This overview focuses on the NDC phenomena observed in metal-single molecule-metal molecular junctions, and is roughly divided into two parts. In the first part, the central experiments which demonstrate NDC in single-molecule junctions are critically reviewed, with emphasis on the main observations and their possible physical origins. The second part is devoted to the theory of NDC in single-molecule junctions, where simple models are employed to shed light on the different possible mechanisms leading to NDC. PMID:26075799

One of the ultimate goals of molecular electronics is to create technologies that will complement—and eventually supersede—Si-based microelectronics technologies. To reach this goal, electronic properties that mimic at least some of the electrical behaviors of today’s semiconductor components must be recognized and characterized. An outstanding example for one such behavior is negative differential conductance (NDC), in which an increase in the voltage across the device terminals results in a decrease in the electric current passing through the device. This overview focuses on the NDC phenomena observed in metal–single molecule–metal molecular junctions, and is roughly divided into two parts. In the first part, the central experiments which demonstrate NDC in single-molecule junctions are critically reviewed, with emphasis on the main observations and their possible physical origins. The second part is devoted to the theory of NDC in single-molecule junctions, where simple models are employed to shed light on the different possible mechanisms leading to NDC.

SummaryHydraulic tomography potentially is a viable technology that facilitates subsurface imaging of hydraulic heterogeneity. To date, a comprehensive validation of hydraulic tomography has not been done either at the laboratory or field scales. The main objective of this paper is to examine the accuracy of hydraulic conductivity ( K) tomograms obtained from the steady-state hydraulic tomography algorithm of [Yeh, T.-C. J., Liu, S., 2000. Hydraulic tomography: development of a new aquifer test method. Water Resources Research 36, 2095-2105]. We first obtain a reference K tomogram through the inversion of synthetic cross-hole test data generated through numerical simulations. The purpose of reference K tomogram generation is to examine the ability of the algorithm to image the heterogeneity pattern under optimal conditions without experimental errors and with full control of forcing functions (initial and boundary conditions as well as source/sink terms). Parallel to the generation of synthetic data, we conduct hydraulic tests at multiple scales in a laboratory aquifer with deterministic heterogeneity to generate data that are used to validate K tomograms from hydraulic tomography. Measurements include multiple K estimates from core, slug, single-hole and cross-hole tests as well as several unidirectional, flow-through experimentsconducted on the sandbox under steady-state conditions. Validation of K tomograms involved a multi-method and multiscale approach proposed herein which include: (1) visual comparisons of K tomograms to the true sand distributions and the reference K tomogram; (2) testing the ability of the K tomogram to predict the hydraulic head distribution of an independent cross-hole test not used in the computation of the K tomogram; (3) comparison of the conditional mean and variance of local K from the K tomograms to the sample mean and variance of results from other measurements; (4) comparison of local K values from K tomograms to those from the reference K tomogram; and (5) comparison of local K values from K tomograms to those obtained from cores and single-hole tests. The multi-method and multiscale validation approach proposed herein further illustrates the robustness of steady-state hydraulic tomography in subsurface heterogeneity delineation.

The participation of the Environmental Physiology Laboratory (EPL) in the general purpose laboratory concept verification test 3 is documented. The EPL Monkey-Pod Experiment was designed to incorporate a 10-12 kg, pig tailed monkey, Macaca nemestrina, into the pod and measure the physiological responses of the animal continously. Four major elements comprise the EPL Monkey-Pod Experiment System: (1) a fiberglass pod containing the instrumented monkey plus feeder and watering devices, (2) an inner console containing the SKYLAB mass spectrometer with its associated valving and electronic controls, sensing, control and monitoring units for lower body negative pressure, feeder activity, waterer activity, temperatures, and gas metabolism calibration, (3) an umbilical complex comprising gas flow lines and electrical cabling between the inner and outer console and (4) an outer console in principle representing the experiment support to be provided from general space craft sources.

Using laboratory subaqueous experiments, we show that a single bidirectional flow regime can lead to two different dune orientations depending on sediment availability. The erodibility of the bed selects the overriding mechanism for the formation of dunes. Then, dunes may either (1) increase in height from the destabilization of a sand bed with no restriction in sediment availability or (2) grow by extension away from a localized sand source in zones of low sand availability. These results are used to develop a new set of landscape-scale experiments in the Tengger desert (Inner Mongolia, China). Exposed to bimodal winds, this site is unique because it allows multiparametric analysis of dune morphodynamics in a natural environment (16 hectares) under well-controlled initial and boundary conditions. The orientation of dunes as a function of the wind regime and the coupling between flow and topography are currently investigated in three experiments that provide empirical support for the coexistence of two independent dune growth mechanisms. In both laboratory and landscape scale experiments, we find that dunes that are transport-limited select an orientation that maximizes the normal to crest components of transport. In zones of limited sand supply, dunes elongate in the direction of the resultant sand flux at the crest. We show how these results can be used to quantitatively predicts the orientation of primary and secondary dune patterns in modern terrestrial sand seas but also on Mars and Titan.

The work is summarized which was accomplished from January 1974 to October 1974 for the Zero-Gravity Atmospheric Cloud Physics Laboratory. The definition and development of an atmospheric cloud physics laboratory and the selection and delineation of candidate experiments that require the unique environment of zero gravity or near zero gravity are reported. The experiment program and the laboratory concept for a Spacelab payload to perform cloud microphysics research are defined. This multimission laboratory is planned to be available to the entire scientific community to utilize in furthering the basic understanding of cloud microphysical processes and phenomenon, thereby contributing to improved weather prediction and ultimately to provide beneficial weather control and modification.

As a possible mechanism of earthquake, stick-slip has long been studied in laboratory, but little has been studied in detail for the last period of a fault approaching to its instability, in which the general differential stress drops from the peak-value of tectonic stress to the level at the beginning of final instability. We define this short-period as a meta-instable stage. In laboratory, the mechanic sign of whether a sample enters meta-instability state is that the stress released rate transfers from a slow velocity to a fast one. Thus, identifying the meat-instable stress state is theoretically and practically important for potential seismic risk evaluation. In order to obtain a detailed evolution process of meta-instable stage, we conducted a series of experiments with different types of combined faults by use of four types of sensor arrays to record strain, fault displacement, acoustic emission and temperature as well as an infrared thermal image system. Furthermore, digital images of sample surface were taken, by high-speed camera at the sampling rate of 1 kHz during stick-slip, to calculate fault displacement field of sample surface. We compared these multi-physical phenomena during different strike-slip stages, including stress accumulation, deviating linear increase of stress, meta-instability and instability. The preliminary results show as following: (i) The instability of a fault is a converting process from independent activities to synergetic activities; the instability is the end of the synergy, while the synergy of different segments of a fault is a sign of regional stress release; (ii) At the beginning of stress release, the stress deviate the linear trend; it is a transition stage from stress accumulation to stress release, while the release is not dominant; and non-linear temperature change caused by strain is observed. We find a shift pattern of compressive and tensional regions, which is reciprocating to extend along the fault from both the strain fields and the thermal fields associated with volumetric strain. (iii) In the meta-instable stage, the stress release is gradually dominated and the synergy is approaching to complete; the more the system is closer to the instability, the less the change induced by strain will be, and the release due to displacement consequently increases; It is notable that a rapid increase of synergetic level of fault displacement presents, whereas less strain change is observed. The fault dislocations started from multi-point and extended to both sides of the fault appear acceleration synergy before instability presents in the infrared thermal images. (iv) The duration time of meta-instable stage for planar faults is less than those of bending faults and compressive en echelon faults. All these observations indicate synergy is an important process in meta-instable stage, and might give new insights into the regional stress state evaluation.

The design of a radioactive waste isolation facility and of oil storage caverns in rock salt deposits in the US is supported by thermo-structural design calculations using a variety of finite element codes. Prerequisites for the successful application of such calculations are described: (1) Laboratory measurements of the time-dependent behavior of rock salt; (2) data smoothing, statistical data analyses and constitutive modelling of rock salt creep; and (3) testing of design predictions against independent measurements which were made both in the laboratory and in situ. Time-dependent rock salt properties were measured in single and multistage triaxial creep experiments up to 21 MPa confining pressure, 41 MPa principal stress difference (deviator stress) and 200/sup 0/C temperature. Measurements included continuous records of stress, shear strain and volumetric strain with a resolution of strain rates to 2 x 10/sup -11/ 1/s.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is an operating nuclear site that has released treated effluents from three plutonium-processing facilities since the mid 1940s. The radioisotope 129I (T1/2 = 15.7 Myrs) derived from235U and 239Pu processing at LANL is locally detected in groundwater above background concentrations. This isotope provides a unique tracer for groundwater investigations conducted at LANL that helps to identify source releases linked to groundwater-flow paths in aquifers subject to binary and ternary mixing of natural- and industrial-derived waters containing chromate and other chemicals. Bromide, chlorate, chloride, nitrate, perchlorate, sulfate, and tritium were associated with multiple outfalls at LANL and, therefore, do not provide unique chemical signatures identifying a specific point of release or source. Natural and anthropogenic ratios of 129I/127I measured in groundwater samples collected at LANL were quantified using accelerator mass spectrometry at Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory, Purdue University. Anthropogenic ratios of 129I/127I range from 1,531 X 10-15 to 10,323 X 10-15 within perched-intermediate groundwater present in volcanoclastic and basalt aquifers (210 - 216 m depth). Anthropogenic ratios of 129I/127I range from 359 X 10-15 to 4,350 X 10-15 within the regional aquifer (280 m depth) consisting of volcanoclastic sediments of variable hydraulic properties. Local background ratios of 129I/127I have a narrow range of 171 X 10-15 to 378 X 10-15 in the regional aquifer. Dissolved iodide measured in groundwater at LANL is stable dominantly as iodate. Background concentrations of dissolved iodate (0.1 to 33.2 nM) are less variable compared to anthropogenic iodate (8.0 to 246 nM) in groundwater at the site. Variability in concentrations of anthropogenic iodate is controlled by heterogeneous source releases of iodate over time and non-uniform mixing of groundwater in the different aquifers.

Experiments were carried out to investigate the potential for bacterial colonization of different substrates in karst aquifers and the nature of the colonizing bacteria. Laboratory batch experiments were performed using limestone and PVC as substrates, a natural bacterial isolate and a known laboratory strain (Escherichia coli [E. coli]) as inocula, and karst ground water and a synthetic formula as growth media. In parallel, fragments of limestone and granite were submerged in boreholes penetrating two karst aquifers for more than one year; the boreholes are periodically contaminated by enteric bacteria from waste water. Once a month, rock samples were removed and the colonizing bacteria quantified and identified. The batch experiments demonstrated that the natural isolate and E. coli both readily colonized limestone surfaces using karst ground water as the growth medium. In contrast, bacterial colonization of both the limestone and granite substrates, when submerged in the karst, was less intense. More than 300 bacterial strains were isolated over the period sampled, but no temporal pattern in colonization was seen as far as strain, and colonization by E. coli was notably absent, although strains of Salmonella and Citrobacter were each observed once. Samples suspended in boreholes penetrating highly fractured zones were less densely colonized than those in the borehole penetrating a less fractured zone. The results suggest that contamination of karst aquifers by enteric bacteria is unlikely to be persistent. We hypothesize that this may be a result of the high flow velocities found in karst conduits, and of predation of colonizing bacteria by autochthonous zooplankton. PMID:15318775

Some of the more fundamental diffusion parameters measured in the CONDORS convective diffusion field experiment are compared with laboratoryexperiment and numerical modeling results by means of nondimensionalizations using convective scaling (i.e., mixing depth, z/sub i/, for length and w* for velocity). The CONDORS experiment used remote sensors, radar and lidar, to measure three-dimensional patterns of metalicized chaff and oil fog. The growth of the vertical standard deviation of plume distribution, sigma/sub z/, agrees quite well with the non-field results, approximating 0.6 w*t nearly to the point of limitation by capping at z = z/sub i/. The lateral standard deviation, sigma sub y, also tends to approximate 0.6 w*t for most elevated releases, while most surface releases show slower growth at large t that better approximates the non-field results. Surface patterns of crosswind-integrated concentration show remarkable agreement with the laboratory results, for the most part, although there is more variation in individual runs; peak values from elevated releases are on the order of 70% larger than conventional Gaussian model predictions.

Experiments were carried out to investigate the potential for bacterial colonization of different substrates in karst aquifers and the nature of the colonizing bacteria. Laboratory batch experiments were performed using limestone and PVC as substrates, a natural bacterial isolate and a known laboratory strain (Escherichia coli [E. coli]) as inocula, and karst ground water and a synthetic formula as growth media. In parallel, fragments of limestone and granite were submerged in boreholes penetrating two karst aquifers for more than one year; the boreholes are periodically contaminated by enteric bacteria from waste water. Once a month, rock samples were removed and the colonizing bacteria quantified and identified. The batch experiments demonstrated that the natural isolate and E. coli both readily colonized limestone surfaces using karst ground water as the growth medium. In contrast, bacterial colonization of both the limestone and granite substrates, when submerged in the karst, was less intense. More than 300 bacterial strains were isolated over the period sampled, but no temporal pattern in colonization was seen as far as strain, and colonization by E. coli was notably absent, although strains of Salmonella and Citrobacter were each observed once. Samples suspended in boreholes penetrating highly fractured zones were less densely colonized than those in the borehole penetrating a less fractured zone. The results suggest that contamination of karst aquifers by enteric bacteria is unlikely to be persistent. We hypothesize that this may be a result of the high flow velocities found in karst conduits, and of predation of colonizing bacteria by autochthonous zooplankton.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory, operated by the University of California, encompasses more than forty-three square miles of mesas and canyons in northern New Mexico. A Department of Energy national laboratory, Los Alamos is one of the largest multidisciplinary, multiprogram laboratories in the world. Our mission, to apply science and engineering capabilities to problems of national security, has expanded to include a broad array of programs. We conduct extensive research in energy, nuclear safeguards and security, biomedical science, computational science, environmental protection and cleanup, materials science, and other basic sciences. The Energy Technology Programs Office is responsible for overseeing and developing programs in three strategic areas: energy systems and the environment, transportation and infrastructure, and integrated chemicals and materials processing. Our programs focus on developing reliable, economic and environmentally sound technologies that can help ensure an adequate supply of energy for the nation. To meet these needs, we are involved in programs that range from new and enhanced oil recovery technologies and tapping renewable energy sources, through efforts in industrial processes, electric power systems, clean coal technologies, civilian radioactive waste, high temperature superconductivity, to studying the environmental effects of energy use.

This study investigated medical laboratory science clinical instructors' beliefs about teaching and how they viewed themselves as teachers. The first phase of the study included an integrative literature review, which suggested that the development of teacher identity in school-based educators, and to a lesser extent higher education faculty, is dependent on four dimensions: personal factors, training factors, contextual factors, and reflective practice. The second phase of this study began qualitative inquiry into the ways that these participants described their teaching and professional identity. Interviews were conducted with medical laboratory science clinical instructors in order to gain an understanding of their perceptions of themselves as teachers. The data collected in this study indicate that this group of clinical instructors saw themselves as teachers who were responsible for providing students with technical skills needed to become competent practitioners and the theoretical foundation necessary to pass the national certification exam. The study participants also saw themselves as mentors who were responsible for passing along professional knowledge to the next generation of laboratory practitioners. During data analysis three themes emerged that represent aspects of teacher identity in clinical instructors: belief in one's teaching ability, desire to expand one's professional responsibilities, and reflection on one's teaching. The findings from this study may provide a foundation for future research designed to measure teacher identity in clinical instructors. PMID:25000652

Background: The Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Trial, a prospective, multicenter, randomized clinical trial comparing two prehospital resuscitation strategies, was conducted under the regulations for exception from informed consent (21CFR50.24) in 24 communities in North America. These regulations place additional requirements for human subject protection on investigators and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), including conducting community consultation (CC) and public disclosure (PD).

A STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR VOCATIONAL HORTICULTURE STUDENTS WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE THE KINDS OF HORTICULTURE PROGRAMS AND THE TYPES AND SCOPE OF EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS OFFERED AND OBTAIN TEACHER APPRAISALS OF THE EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS WHICH SHOULD BE REQUIRED AND THE FACILITIES NEEDED TO PROVIDE SATISFACTORY PROGRAMS. OF 25 SCHOOLS…

Unfortunately, Australia leads the world in the number of skin cancer cases per capita. Three major factors that contribute to this are: 1) the level of damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation in Australia is higher than in many other countries. This is caused, among other factors, by the stratospheric ozone depletion and Antarctic ozone hole; 2) many people in Australia are of Irish-Scottish origin and their skin can not repair the damage caused by the UV radiation as effectively as the skin of people of other origins; 3) Australia is one of the world’s leaders in the outdoor activities where people tend to spend more time outside. As our experience has shown, most Australian University students, high school students, and even high school teachers were largely unaware of the UV damage details and effective safety measures. Therefore, a need for new ways to educate people became apparent. The general aim of this new 1st year laboratoryexperiment, developed and first offered at La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia) in 2009, is to investigate how UV-B radiation levels change under various solar illumination conditions and how effective different types of protection are. After pre-lab readings on physical concepts and biological effects of UV radiation, and after solving all pre-lab problems, the students go outside and measure the actual change in UV-B and UV-A radiation levels under various conditions. Some of these conditions are: direct sun, shade from a building, shade under the roof, reflection from various surfaces, direct sun through cheap and expensive sunglasses and eyeglasses, direct sun through various types of cloth and hair. The equipment used is the UV-Probe manufactured by sglux SolGel Technologies GmbH. The students’ feedback on this new laboratoryexperiment was very positive. It was ranked top among all physics experiments offered as part of that subject (Physics for Life Sciences) in 2009 and top among all physics experiments presented for peer evaluation at the Advanced Science Education Learning Laboratory Workshop in April 2010 at the University of Adelaide, Australia. All three main components of the UV Radiation experiment - pre-lab exercises, taking measurements, and a group discussion led by a demonstrator, were assessed by the students and by the teaching academics as a very important and valuable contribution to learning.

The purpose of this guide is to describe each series of records that pertains to the epidemiologic studies conducted by the Epidemiology Section of the Occupational Medicine Group (ESH-2) at the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The records described in this guide relate to occupational studies performed by the Epidemiology Section, including those pertaining to workers at LANL, Mound Plant, Oak Ridge Reservation, Pantex Plant, Rocky Flats Plant, and Savannah River Site. Also included are descriptions of other health-related records generated or collected by the Epidemiology Section and a small set of records collected by the Industrial Hygiene and Safety Group. This guide is not designed to describe the universe of records generated by LANL which may be used for epidemiologic studies of the LANL work force. History Associates Incorporated (HAI) prepared this guide as part of its work as the support services contractor for DOE`s Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project. This introduction briefly describes the Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project, HAI`s role in the project, the history of LANL the history and functions of LANL`s Health Division and Epidemiology Section, and the various epidemiologic studies performed by the Epidemiology Section. It provides information on the methodology that HAI used to inventory and describe records housed in the offices of the LANL Epidemiology Section in Technical Area 59 and at the LANL Records Center. Other topics include the methodology used to produce the guide, the arrangement of the detailed record series descriptions, and information concerning access to records repositories.

Model reference controllers have been developed and applied to the linearized Spacecraft Control LaboratoryExperiment (SCOLE) roll beam mode equation. When a large- but finite-dimensional approximation to the partial differential equation is used, the resulting control will be finite-dimensional, but possibly not adequately representative for the actual distributed-parameter system. To date the theory for such model reference controllers has been developed; here it is applied to a 16th-order finite-dimensional representation of the flexible and rigid body modes of the SCOLE. Results of the analysis and some preliminary simulation studies are presented.

High performance elastomers were developed for hostile geothermal environments which clearly advance the state-of-the-art. The Y267 EPDM compound is eminently successful and has accumulated broad laboratory and field test experience. Over 15 separate tests are reviewed with about 95% performed independently by other organizations. The tests include a broad spectrum of environments with temperatures in excess of 320 C (608 F), differential pressures up to 138 MPa (20,000 psi) and in fluids including brine, oils, isobutane, and others.

Hydraulic tomography potentially is a viable technology that facilitates subsurface imaging of hydraulic heterogeneity. To date, a comprehensive validation of hydraulic tomography has not been done either at the laboratory or field scales. The main objective of this paper is to examine the accuracy of hydraulic conductivity (K) tomograms obtained from the steady-state hydraulic tomography algorithm of [Yeh, T.-C. J.,

A study was conducted in Wyoming to determine the scope and economic value of supervised occupational experience programs (SOEPs) in vocational agriculture. The study tried to determine the level of participation and success realized by females engaged in SOEP activities, and to find out to what degree males and females engage in balanced SOEPs,…

The Gross Decontamination Experiment was conducted on various levels and surfaces of the TMI-2 Reactor Building during February and March 1982 and was designed to investigate the effectiveness of various surface decontamination techniques. The polar crane, D-rings, missile shields, refueling canal, fueling bridge, major equipment, floors and some walls were flushed with low pressure water. Water lances were directed manually

This paper presents a set of laboratoryexperiments focused on how a buoyant coastal current flowing over a sloping bottom interacts with a canyon and what controls the separation, if any, of the current from the upstream ...

Presented here is a laboratoryexperiment for a course in physical chemistry. Students are requested to directly measure the degree of orientational order in a liquid crystal at room temperature. A minimum amount of equipment is necessary. (Author/SA)

A virtual laboratory via internet to provide a highly iterative and powerful teaching tool for scientific and technical discipline is given. The experimenter takes advantage of a virtual laboratory and he can execute nuclear experiment at introductory level e.g. Gamma ray detection with Geiger-Mueller Counter at remote location using internet communication technology.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of research concerning the area of organocatalysis. A multistep capstone laboratory project that combines traditional reactions frequently found in organic laboratory curriculums with this new field of research is described. In this experiment, the students synthesize a prolinamide-based organocatalyst…

The transport of fine-grained particles in estuarine and coastal waters is influenced by flocculation processes (aggregation and floc breakup). As a consequence, the particle size varies with time in the water column, and can be orders of magnitude larger than those of primary particles. In this study the variations in floc size is simulated using a size-resolved method, which approximates the real size distribution of particles by a range of size bins and solves a mass balance equation for each bin. To predict the size distribution both aggregation and breakup processes are included. The conventional rectilinear aggregation kernel is used which considers both turbulent shear and differential settling. The breakup kernel accounts for the fractal dimension of the flocs. A flocculation simulation is compared to the settling column lab experiments of Winterwerp [1998. A simple model for turbulence induced flocculation of cohesive sediment, Journal of Hydraulic Research, 36, 309-326], and a one-dimensional sediment transport model is verified with the observed variations in floc size and concentration over tidal cycles in a laboratory flume experiment of Bale et al. [2002. Direct observation of the formation and break-up of aggregates in an annular flume using laser reflectance particle sizing. In: Winterwerp, J.C., Kranenburg, C. (Eds.), Fine Sediment Dynamics in the Marine Environment. Elsevier, pp. 189-201]. The numerical simulations compare qualitatively and quantitatively well with the laboratory measurements, and the analysis of the two simulation results indicates that the median floc size can be correlated to the sediment concentration and Kolmogorov microscale. Sensitivity studies are conducted to explore the role of settling velocity and erosion rate. The results are not sensitive towards the formulation of settling velocity, but the parameterization of erosion flux is important. The studies show that for predicting the sediment deposition flux it is crucial to include flocculation processes.

It is important to investigate geochemical evolution around nuclear waste repositories, because geochemical conditions could affect radionuclide migration. Therefore, a laboratory jar experiment was conducted with subsurface sediments, in order to assess the response of the geochemical and microbial communities toward redox processes. The redox process was induced by exposure to air and discontinuation to sediment suspension, which simulated the process occurring during operation of nuclear waste repositories, i.e., tunnel excavation, transport of waste containers, and final backfilling. During the experiments, redox potential, dissolved oxygen, and pH in the suspension were measured, and the concentrations of dissolved ions concentration (e.g., NO3-, SO42- and organic acid), HCl-extractable iron, and also head space gasses (e.g., CO2, CH4) in the jar were analyzed. Moreover, microbial DNA was extracted from the suspension, and PCR-DGGE analysis was performed to analyze the response of microbial communities toward the geochemical changes. As a results, after discontinuation of air exposure with lactate amendment, redox potentials decreased from ca. +300 mV to -430 m V (vs. Ag/AgCl), and the sequential terminal electron-accepting process (TEAPs) was observed with the reactions of aerobic respiration, nitrate reduction, iron reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis. The related species of the microbes along with TEAPs, e.g., Pseudomonas sp. for nitrate reduction and Desulfovibrio sp. for sulfate reduction, was also detected. These results indicated that the microbial activities would affect the geochemical changes in nuclear repositories.

Summary Spain, as most other Mediterranean countries, faces near future water shortages, generalized pollution and loss of water dependent ecosystems. Aquifer recharge represents a promising option to become a source for indirect potable reuse purposes but presence of pathogens as well as organic and inorganic pollutants should be avoided. To this end, understanding the processes of biogeochemical degradation occurring within the aquifer during infiltration is capital. A set of laboratory batch experiments has been assembled in order to assess the behaviour of selected pesticides, drugs, estrogens, surfactant degradation products, biocides and phthalates under different redox conditions. Data collected during laboratoryexperiments and monitoring activities at the Sant Vicenç dels Horts test site will be used to build and calibrate a numerical model (i) of the physical-chemical-biochemical processes occurring in the batches and (ii) of multicomponent reactive transport in the unsaturated/saturated zone at the test site. Keywords Aquifer recharge, batch experiments, emerging micropollutants, infiltration, numerical model, reclaimed water, redox conditions, Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT). 1. Introduction In Spain, the Llobregat River and aquifers, which supply water to Barcelona, have been overexploited for years and therefore, suffer from serious damages: the river dries up on summer, riparian vegetation has disappeared and seawater has intruded the aquifer. In a global context, solutions to water stress problems are urgently needed yet must be sustainable, economical and safe. Recent developments of analytical techniques detect the presence of the so-called "emerging" organic micropollutants in water and soils. Such compounds may affect living organisms when occurring in the environment at very low concentrations (microg/l or ng/l). In wastewater and drinking water treatment plants, a remarkable removal of these chemicals from water can be obtained only using advanced and costly treatments. Nevertheless, a number of studies are demonstrating that physical, chemical and biochemical processes associated with water movement within the subsoil represent a natural alternative way to reduce the presence of these contaminants. This processes are called Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT). Aquifer recharge will become a source for indirect potable reuse purposes as long as the presence of pathogens and organic and inorganic pollutants is avoided. To this end, understanding the biogeochemical degradation processes occurring within the aquifer during infiltration is capital. 2. Laboratory batch experiments A set of laboratory batch experiments has been assembled to assess the behaviour of selected pesticides, drugs, estrogens, surfactant degradation products, biocides and phthalates under different redox conditions. The setup of the experiments consists of glass bottles containing 120 g of soil and 240 ml of synthetic water spiked with the mix of micropollutants. A source of easily degradable organic carbon and, depending on the type of test, electron acceptors are added in order to yield aerobic respiration and nitrate/iron/manganese/sulphate reduction conditions. The evolution of the processes is monitored by sacrificing duplicate bottles according to a defined schedule and analysing water for major and minor components as well as for micropollutants. Results from biotic tests are compared with abiotic ones in order to discern biodegradation from other chemical processes. The soil, the synthetic water and the micropollutants selected for the experiments are representative of a test site in the nearby of Barcelona (Spain) where artificial recharge of groundwater through ponds is going to be performed using river water or tertiary effluent from a waste water treatment plant. The results of the experiments improve the knowledge on the behaviour of the selected micropollutants under different redox conditions and provide with useful information on the conditions to develop at the test site during artificial recharge. The data coll

A straightforward and inexpensive implementation of acoustic impulse response measurement is described utilizing the signal processing technique of coherent averaging. The technique is capable of high signal-to-noise measurements with personal computer data acquisition equipment, an amplifier/speaker, and a high quality microphone. When coupled with simple waveguide test systems fabricated from commercial PVC plumbing pipe, impulse response measurement has proven to be ideal for undergraduate research projects-often of publishable quality-or for advanced laboratoryexperiments. The technique provides important learning objectives for science or engineering students in areas such as interfacing and computer control of experiments; analog-to-digital conversion and sampling; time and frequency analysis using Fourier transforms; signal processing; and insight into a variety of current research areas such as acoustic bandgap materials, acoustic metamaterials, and fast and slow wave manipulation. PMID:22423798

In this paper, we present the first laboratoryexperiments that show the generation of internal solitary waves by the impingement of a quasi-two-dimensional internal wave beam on a pycnocline. These experiments were inspired by observations of internal solitary waves in the deep ocean from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, where this so-called mechanism of 'local generation' was argued to be at work, here in the form of internal tidal beams hitting the thermocline. Nonlinear processes involved here are found to be of two kinds. First, we observe the generation of a mean flow and higher harmonics at the location where the principal beam reflects from the surface and pycnocline; their characteristics are examined using particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Second, we observe internal solitary waves that appear in the pycnocline, detected with ultrasonic probes; they are further characterized by a bulge in the frequency spectrum, distinct from the higher harmonics. Finally, the relevance of our re...

A Mach, or directional Langmuir probe was designed and constructed for use on two laboratory plasma experiments at Los Alamos. The Mach probe consists of two oppositely facing molybdenum electrodes, each exposed to only one direction of plasma flow, and two electrically floating molybdenum tips contained within a cylindrical alumina probe body of OD 5 cm. The size of the electrodes is much smaller than the ion gyro-radius of our experiments (several cm). The two directional electrodes are biased negatively (-45 V) with respect to the floating tips to draw ion saturation current. The difference in current drawn by the two directional electrodes can be used to assess plasma flow. We discuss the details of our probe design and construction. We will also interpret our data using recent new theoretical work on unmagnetized Mach probe ion collection [1]. [1] I. H. Hutchinson, Plasma Phys. Control. Fus. 44, 1953 (2002).

The BEAR (Beam Experiment Aboard Rocket) accelerator will be part of an experiment to demonstrate the operation of an ion accelerator in space and to characterize the exoatmospheric propagation of a neutral particle beam. The RFQ (radio-frequency quadrupole) has been designed to produce a 25-mA H/sup /minus// beam with an emittance of 0.01 cm-mrad (rms normalized) at an energy of 1 MeV. Because of the rigors of spaceflight, the accelerator design has been constrained by factors not normally applicable to conventional terrestrial accelerators. These factors and the mechanical features are described in a companion paper in these proceedings. The design techniques developed for BEAR would be applicable whenever, rugged, lightweight, or power-efficient systems are required. The BEAR RFQ has been operated under power with beam in the laboratory. This paper details of measured beam transport, emittance, and energy spectra. 6 refs., 4 figs.

The lattice and radiation conductivity of ZrO2-Y2O3 thermal barrier coatings was evaluated using a laser heat flux approach. A diffusion model has been established to correlate the coating apparent thermal conductivity to the lattice and radiation conductivity. The radiation conductivity component can be expressed as a function of temperature, coating material scattering, and absorption properties. High temperature scattering and absorption of the coating systems can be also derived based on the testing results using the modeling approach. A comparison has been made for the gray and nongray coating models in the plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings. The model prediction is found to have a good agreement with experimental observations.

Laser propulsion research progress has traditionally been hindered by the scarcity of photon sources with desirable characteristics, as well as integrated specialized flow facilities in a dedicated laboratory environment. For TEA CO2 lasers, the minimal requirements are time-average powers of >100 W), and pulse energies of >10 J pulses with short duration (e.g., 0.1 to 1 ?s); furthermore, for the advanced pulsejet engines of interest here, the laser system must simulate pulse repetition frequencies of 1-10 kilohertz or more, at least for two (carefully sequenced) pulses. A well-equipped laser propulsion laboratory should have an arsenal of sensor and diagnostics tools (such as load cells, thrust stands, moment balances, pressure and heat transfer gages), Tesla-level electromagnet and permanent magnets, flow simulation facilities, and high-speed visualization systems, in addition to other related equipment, such as optics and gas supply systems. In this paper we introduce a cutting-edge Laser Propulsion Laboratory created at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, one of the very few in the world to be uniquely set up for beamed energy propulsion (BEP) experiments. The present BEP research program is described, along with the envisioned research strategy that will exploit current and expanded facilities in the near future.

Laser propulsion research progress has traditionally been hindered by the scarcity of photon sources with desirable characteristics, as well as integrated specialized flow facilities in a dedicated laboratory environment. For TEA CO{sub 2} lasers, the minimal requirements are time-average powers of >100 W), and pulse energies of >10 J pulses with short duration (e.g., 0.1 to 1 {mu}s); furthermore, for the advanced pulsejet engines of interest here, the laser system must simulate pulse repetition frequencies of 1-10 kilohertz or more, at least for two (carefully sequenced) pulses. A well-equipped laser propulsion laboratory should have an arsenal of sensor and diagnostics tools (such as load cells, thrust stands, moment balances, pressure and heat transfer gages), Tesla-level electromagnet and permanent magnets, flow simulation facilities, and high-speed visualization systems, in addition to other related equipment, such as optics and gas supply systems. In this paper we introduce a cutting-edge Laser Propulsion Laboratory created at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, one of the very few in the world to be uniquely set up for beamed energy propulsion (BEP) experiments. The present BEP research program is described, along with the envisioned research strategy that will exploit current and expanded facilities in the near future.

Check dam has been constructed at mountain area to block debris flow, but has been filled after several events and lose its function of trapping. For the reason, the main facilities of our research is the adjustable steel slit check dam, which with the advantages of fast building, easy to remove or adjust it function. When we can remove transverse beams to drain sediments off and keep the channel continuity. We constructed adjustable steel slit check dam on the Landow torrent, Huisun Experiment Forest station as the prototype to compare with model in laboratory. In laboratoryexperiments, the Froude number similarity was used to design the dam model. The main comparisons focused on types of sediment trapping and removing, sediment discharge, and trapping rate of slit check dam. In different types of removing transverse beam showed different kind of sediment removal and differences on rate of sediment removing, removing rate, and particle size distribution. The sediment discharge in check dam with beams is about 40%~80% of check dam without beams. Furthermore, the spacing of beams is considerable factor to the sediment discharge. In field experiment, this research uses time-lapse photography to record the adjustable steel slit check dam on the Landow torrent. The typhoon Soulik made rainfall amounts of 600 mm in eight hours and induced debris flow in Landow torrent. Image data of time-lapse photography demonstrated that after several sediment transport event the adjustable steel slit check dam was buried by debris flow. The result of lab and field experiments: (1)Adjustable check dam could trap boulders and stop woody debris flow and flush out fine sediment to supply the need of downstream river. (2)The efficiency of sediment trapping in adjustable check dam with transverse beams was significantly improved. (3)The check dam without transverse beams can remove the sediment and keep the ecosystem continuity.

The role of allelopathy in bloom formation by the paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) dinoflagellate, Alexandrium fundyense, was examined using five strains isolated from across the latitudinal PSP-toxicity gradient found along the North American East Coast. We specifically present bi-algal laboratoryexperiments, field experiments using cultured A. fundyense and natural phytoplankton communities, and the temporal dynamics of plankton assemblages during A.

This paper will describe ongoing laboratory astrophysics experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) relevant to the complex radiation hydrodynamics that occurs in red supergiant, and core-collapse supernovae. Experiments on NIF can deliver 300 eV radiative heating that can be utilized uniquely access the regime in which radiation affects the development of hydrodynamic instabilities within an evolving object. This is relevant to the dynamics that occur during the core-collapse explosions of red supergiant stars. These stars have dense circumstellar plasma, producing a strongly radiative shock whose radiation interacts with the hydrodynamic structures produced by instabilities during the explosion. While published astrophysical simulations have not included complex, multidimensional radiation hydrodynamics, such effects are very physical and expected to affect the evolution of early stages of astrophysical objects described above. This presentation will include a summary of the two test shots that we have performed on NIF, including a 0.7 scale, gas-filled hohlraum test shot, and a description of the integrated physics shots scheduled at the facility. This work is funded by the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in High-Energy-Density Laboratory Plasmas under grant number DE-FG52-09NA29548 , the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344 and Predictive Sciences Academic Alliances Program in NNSA-ASC via grant DEFC52- 08NA28616.

This paper will describe ongoing laboratory astrophysics experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) relevant to the complex radiation hydrodynamics that occurs in red supergiant, and core-collapse supernovae. Experiments on NIF can deliver 300 eV radiative heating that can be utilized uniquely access the regime in which radiation affects the development of hydrodynamic instabilities within an evolving object. This is relevant to the dynamics that occur during the core-collapse explosions of red supergiant stars. These stars have dense circumstellar plasma, producing a strongly radiative shock whose radiation interacts with the hydrodynamic structures produced by instabilities during the explosion. While published astrophysical simulations have not included complex, multidimensional radiation hydrodynamics, such effects are very physical and expected to affect the evolution of early stages of astrophycal objects described above. This presentation will include a summary of the two test shots that we have performed on NIF, including a 0.7 scale, gas-filled hohlraum test shot, and a description of the integrated physics shots scheduled at the facility. This work is funded by the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in High-Energy-Density Laboratory Plasmas under grant number DE-FG52-09NA29548 , the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344 and Predictive Sciences Academic Alliances Program in NNSA-ASC via grant DEFC52- 08NA28616.

Déjà vu is a nebulous memory experience defined by a clash between evaluations of familiarity and novelty for the same stimulus. We sought to generate it in the laboratory by pairing a DRM recognition task, which generates erroneous familiarity for critical words, with a monitoring task by which participants realise that some of these erroneously familiar words are in fact novel. We tested 30 participants in an experiment in which we varied both participant awareness of stimulus novelty and erroneous familiarity strength. We found that déjà vu reports were most frequent for high novelty critical words (?25%), with low novelty critical words yielding only baseline levels of déjà vu report frequency (?10%). There was no significant variation in déjà vu report frequency according to familiarity strength. Discursive accounts of the experimentally-generated déjà vu experience suggest that aspects of the naturalistic déjà vu experience were captured by this analogue, but that the analogue was also limited in its focus and prone to influence by demand characteristics. We discuss theoretical and methodological considerations relevant to further development of this procedure and propose that verifiable novelty is an important component of both naturalistic and experimental analogues of déjà vu. PMID:25401055

Déjà vu is a nebulous memory experience defined by a clash between evaluations of familiarity and novelty for the same stimulus. We sought to generate it in the laboratory by pairing a DRM recognition task, which generates erroneous familiarity for critical words, with a monitoring task by which participants realise that some of these erroneously familiar words are in fact novel. We tested 30 participants in an experiment in which we varied both participant awareness of stimulus novelty and erroneous familiarity strength. We found that déjà vu reports were most frequent for high novelty critical words (?25%), with low novelty critical words yielding only baseline levels of déjà vu report frequency (?10%). There was no significant variation in déjà vu report frequency according to familiarity strength. Discursive accounts of the experimentally-generated déjà vu experience suggest that aspects of the naturalistic déjà vu experience were captured by this analogue, but that the analogue was also limited in its focus and prone to influence by demand characteristics. We discuss theoretical and methodological considerations relevant to further development of this procedure and propose that verifiable novelty is an important component of both naturalistic and experimental analogues of déjà vu. PMID:25401055

W-doped anatase TiO{sub 2} films were deposited on glass substrate by magnetron cosputtering. The minimum resistivity, 1.5x10{sup -2} {Omega} cm, for Ti{sub 1-x}W{sub x}O{sub 2} film (x=0.063) was obtained. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows W incorporated in the Ti lattice position is mostly in the W{sup 6+} state. Theoretical calculations based upon the density-functional theory were applied to analyze the electronic structure and conducting mechanism. The strong hybridization of Ti 3d states with W 5d states is the dominate factor to cause the shifting in Fermi level into conduction band. Our results suggest that tungsten is a favorable dopant to form TiO{sub 2}-based transparent conducting oxide materials.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been utilized with nonscience majors in the courses: "Modern Methods in Science: Discovering Molecular Secrets"; "The Extraordinary Chemistry of Ordinary Things"; "From Ozone to Oil Spills: Chemistry, the Environment and You"; and "Crime Lab Chemistry: Solving Crime through Analytical Chemistry". Our efforts have centered on introducing prospective science communicators (film, video, radio, television, and journalism majors) to science relative to their majors and personal interests. Quality lecture-discussion topics, "mystery"-based laboratory activities have assisted in introducing and/or explaining specific areas of chemistry that attempt to reduce fear of subject matter. Students have also used GC-MS, as a form of alternative assessment, in course projects that have been based on their majors, personal interests, and cultural backgrounds. Students have also conducted advanced independent work in different areas of chemistry, including the analysis of nail polishes and lacquers and eleven aromatic compounds present in three different brands of gasoline.

Strength/depth profiles are often used as standard models to constrain treatments of lithosphere-scale geodynamics. Such profiles have virtue because they are motivated by our understanding of inelastic deformation of rocks, and because they can be used in complex numerical calculations. But, by attempting to construct simple, generic mechanical models, often while lacking detailed descriptions of the sub-surface, such treatments may ignore important issues, including spatial heterogeneities in rock composition, in strain displacements, or in other thermodynamic parameters, including temperature, fluid pressure and composition. Further, these profiles usually assume constitutive equations that reflect combinations of a simple yield criterion with steady-state creep. Thus, transient mechanical behavior is neglected. Fortunately, a plethora of recent laboratory, field structural, and computational studies may now be used to shed light on mechanical behavior at a much broader range of temperature, pressure, strain rates, and strain. For example, new experiments provide a description of creep in minerals at pressures greater than 2 GPa, of friction at seismic velocities, and of strains larger than 5. Observations of field microstructures, coupled with mechanical descriptions gleaned from laboratoryexperiments and theoretical treatments of the thermodynamics and mechanics of deformation, provide important insights into the way that localization occurs in natural shear zones. Finally, Earth scientists have gained an improved understanding of the subtle, yet important, interplay among fluids, transport properties, and rock deformation, which are capable of producing rich patterns of deformation. Among several important and challenging issues that need work is spatial scaling of properties; it is particularly important to consider differences in length scales that are embedded in the various techniques of field and global geophysics, field geology, and experiments. Our more detailed understanding of mechanical behavior of rocks presents both opportunities and obligations. In addition to considering more refined constitutive behavior, both forward and inverse calculations are needed to reconcile geophysical observations taken at widely varying scales.